Akame ga Kill: A different destiny
by Marcel M
Summary: What would have happened if Tatsumi never got the chance to encounter Night Raid on his first visit in the Capital? What if he did not find out about its evil nature back then and became part of the army as planned? Would he have met the Empires Strongest earlier that way? And if he did, would they have had another kind of relationship? Lets find out, what could have happened!
1. Chapter 1: Kill the Inequity (Part 1)

**Hi there. My name is Marcel and I´m the author of this story.  
Even though I´m new to this kind of writing, I hope you enjoy it.  
It´s a composition of parts of the Manga/Anime, other ``Akame ga kill´´- fanfics and my own ideas.  
I´d only like to give you the following information before reading:  
1) Italics mean that those lines are thoughts/dreams.  
2) Single words written with big/cursive letters in one sentence mean they are emphasized.  
With this in mind, please enjoy ;)**

DISCLAIMER:  
I DON´T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO THE "AKAME GA KILL"-FRANCHISE. THE MANGA WAS WRITTEN BY TAKAHIRO AND ILLUSTRATED BY TETSUYA TASHIRO.  
THIS FANFIC HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN FOR PROFIT!  
IT MAY CONTAINS SPOILER!  
IT´LL INCLUDE BRUTAL CONSIDERED SCENES!

 **Chapter 1: Kill the Inequity (Part 1)**

The battle had reached its peak; the sound of clashing steel filled the environment. Orders were barked by the enemy and screams of agony and pain could mix with the sounds of war. The bodies littered the ground each covered with a thick layer of ice and snow.

The brown-haired teenager pushed forward, sword in hand, and hacked at his opponent with murderous intent. He knew the blue-haired General would sit back and watch, as she had done before. The boy knew she enjoyed it way too much.

He knew only one could walk away from this fight; he feared it wouldn't be him. The outcome looked grim. He felt the fear of failing his friends and village. But more than that he felt the fear of failing his dead comerades and his own oath!  
A final strike; blood poured in a crimson fountain, dyeing both enemies in its colour.  
When he fell to his knees, all he heard was silence...

 **Two months ago**

After years of training, their hard work would pay off; the day to leave their village had come at last. Tatsumi and his two friends would be able to go to the Capital and save their village. He was sure that Ieyasu, Sayo, and he would rise into high military positions in no time. The money they would earn could save the poor village and give their families and friends comfortable lives in the cold lands far north of the Imperial city. Nobody would have to starve anymore. Though teary goodbyes had been exchanged, he looked forward to their adventure in excitement.

Alltogether they were well equipped for the month-long journey. Each of them wore brown ankle-high leather-boots, which were cut out for hiking, climbing and fighting. The village elder had three cloaks made of fur; one for each of them. Worn over their normal clothes, those should keep them warm and protect them against snow, wind and rain. Additionally, each of them had gotten a newly forged iron short-sword and a newly manufactured hunting knife as well as five silver coins.

Tatsumi adjusted the straps of his pack and grinned with excitement.  
 _`With this equipment and our skill we should be able to reach the Capital easily. We´ll enlist and climb by the ranks to officers in no time._  
 _I can´t wait-´_

``Tatsumi!´´  
His friends had to shout in unison for him to notice.

Tatsumi jumped, startled.  
``What´s the matter. You two just scared the hell out of me!´´

``Sorry,´´ answered Ieyasu. The boy with black spiky hair and a white headband laughed.  
``But you didn´t respond. I tried talking to you, but you seemed to be absentminded. What were you thinking about?´´

``Just about what we´ll do if we reach the Capital,´´ Tatsumi answered enthusiastically.  
Sayo and Ieyasu couldn´t help but to giggle at this answer.

``What´s so funny?´´ Tatsumi asked, a bit annoyed. He didn´t understand their amusement at all.

``Stop worrying so much, we just started our journey. We still have to travel for about a month to reach the Capital. We can think about those things when we´re there. For now let´s enjoy our trip,´´ Sayo, a girl with beautiful long black hair, responded with a snicker.

``Well, I think you´re right,´´ Tatsumi started to chuckle himself. He was happy that his friends accompanied him. He knew they were great fighters, too.

He liked Sayo´s calm nature - it put him at ease - as well as Ieyasu´s psyched up but sometimes clumsy nature, which would excite him as well.  
They were a great trio, cancelling out each other´s flaws. They all knew that for sure.  
So they continued their journey.

 **Three weeks later**

While traveling South, drawing closer and closer to the Capital, they stopped at villages taking requests for difficult tasks in exchange for payment.

Thanks to their training they had no problem fighting Danger Beasts or bandits.  
They earned quite a bit of silver on their way, which they saved for when they would reach the Capital.

In fact, they were earning some more right now.

``Sayo, Ieyasu distract it!´´  
While shouting, Tatsumi ran towards the right side of the big lizard-like creature they had found about a minute ago.

``Alright Tatsumi!´´ they shouted in unison.

As planned, the Danger Beast focused on those two when they struck its gigantic, well-armored jaw over and over with their swords.

Right when they pulled back, the creature which was as big as a house, launched forward incredibly fast, although something that big should have no business moving that quickly. It tried swallowing them whole, but when it bit down, to its surprise, neither Sayo nor Ieyasu were there. Both dashed away from its closing maw, missing them by mere inches. The beast reared back, confused. It tried to figure out what had happened, but its hesitation sealed its fate.

Tatsumi slipped under its belly and pushed his sword into its guts, making it scream in agony. In a desperate attempt to avoid death, the beast stumbled to the right, only widening its wound. Tatsumi pulled out his sword and rolled to the side as fast as he could. Its green blood poured down and coloured the earth below in a poisonous tint. Its eyes rolled back and it collapsed dead on the ground.

Tatsumi shook off the blood on his sword and attached it back on his back, as Sayo and Ieyasu walked over to him.

``So this was the cause of the disappearance of the people in the forest,´´ Sayo stated calmly while kicking the remains of the dead Danger Beast.

``Seems so,´´ Ieyaso confirmed with a nod.

``We can´t bring this thing to the villagers; it´s too heavy and too big to transport! If they want proof, we´ll have to bring them here. They can decide what to do with the carcass.´´  
Tatsumi scratched his head while looking to his friends.

Since they had done their work, they agreed on heading back to the village and collecting their payment.

 _`This should have been our last job, before reaching the Capital. We´re already in its direct outskirts. We should reach it by tomorrow evening, if we go a steady pace. After we get our payment we should-´  
_ Tatsumi´s toughts were put to an abrupt end as an arrow passed his face by mere inches.  
He had been so deep in thought that he hadn´t noticed the arrow as it soared out of the bushes.

``Aaaahhhh!´´  
Sayo screamed out in pain, the arrow sticking out of her right shoulder.

Tatsumi turned his head in an instant.  
``Sayo are you-´´  
He couldn´t even finish this sentence, when a second arrow was launched out of the bushes.

``Aaaahhhh!´´  
Trying to protect the already hurt Sayo, Ieyasu jumped in front of her with his sword drawn and slashed at the arrow.  
But it was to fast to be deflected. Before he could hit it, it already buried itself into his belly.

``Ieyasu!´´  
Tatsumi screamed out in horror. But before he could do anything, he got a hard blow to the back of his head that instantly caused him to pass out.

When he started to come to his senses, he felt a throbbing pain at the back of his head. He decided to let his eyelids remain closed until the pain would fade.  
He could barely remember what had happened. The only thing he could remember was the three of them completing a request and being on their way back.

 _`Sayo, Ieyasu!´_  
The thought shot right through his head, causing the pain to grow. Even so, he instantly opened his eyes. He was placed on the ground face-down. He turned his head as much as possible, but he couldn´t see anybody. He wanted to take his sword, but it was gone, as well as his cloak and the small bag filled with their hard-earned silver.

 _`We were attacked by bandits!´  
_ Tatsumi felt his stomach drop at the realization; he had to find his friends as soon as possible.  
Then he heard it, someone coughed near him. Still in pain, he slowly stood up, feeling the sickness caused by the hit. But he ignored it. He slowly went in the direction the cough came from, only to find a heavily wounded Ieyasu leaning at a tree, caressing a seemingly sleeping Sayo, with her head on his lap. What made him worry more than Ieyasu´s deep wound, were his swollen, red eyes and the snot leaking out of his nose.

``Ieyasu, thank god you´re ok! What´s the matter? Are you in that much pain?´´ Tatsumi asked while looking at his friend with a concerned expression.

``You don´t get it, do you?´´  
Ieyasu answered with a weak voice.  
Hearing this, Tatsumi instantly narrowed his eyes to a slit, looking at both of them more intensely. As he noticed it, he took a deep breath and his eyes widened, tears starting to stream, Sayo wasn´t breathing!

``What happened?´´ Tatsumi blubbered out.

``After they knocked you out, they took everything valuable from us. When they got to Sayo, they took her cloak, and-´´  
Ieyasu nearly vomited while trying to go on.

``What? What? Tell me! What did they do?!´´  
Tatsumi screamed louder and louder.

``I ... can´t; it´s ... too much!´´  
Ieyasu´s voice wavered, the physical and mental pain evident as he tried to speak.

``What?´´  
Tatsumi spat the word out, desperation taking root.

``T-Th-They r-ra-raped her! And w-when s-she started crying and pleading, t-they ch-choked her t-to death!´´  
Ieyasu tried to hold back his tears with every last ounce of strength. Tatsumi just stood there in shock, he couldn´t believe what he had heard. What did Sayo do to deserve this kind of death?! He started to cry like a small child and so did Ieyasu. Tatsumi only stopped when Ieyasu started to cough extremly hard, spitting out a mix of salvia and his own blood as a result.

``Ieyasu!´´  
Tatsumi knelt down next to his friend with a look of despair and disbelief.

``I´m sorry... Tatsumi. They... got me... pretty hard.´´  
Tears appeared in Ieyasu´s eyes again.

``No, I won´t let that happen! I already lost Sayo, I won´t lose you too!´´ Tatsumi said, still crying.

``I´m ... afraid ... it´s too... it´s too... it´s-´´  
Ieyasu slowly closed his tear-filled red eyes.

``Ieyasu? Ieyasu?!´´  
Tatsumi couldn´t stand anymore; he hugged Ieyasu´s corpse, crying in agony.  
Both of his friends had just died. But him? He couldn´t do anything about it! How could he save his village, when he was this weak?!  
He simply knelt there, next to the corpses of his former friends, crying and screaming in rage and misery.

 **A day later**

Tatsumi had cried until the tears wouldn´t come out anymore. It was just impossible for his body to produce more of them.  
His eyes were red and swollen; his cheeks showed signs of the tears pouring down in salty lines, until they dropped down to the earth from his chin.  
His knees were chafed. He wanted to mourn their deaths more, but he couldn´t. Feeling cold and weakened from hunger and thirst he stood up.  
He knew that he couldn´t bury their corpses here, but he couldn´t let them be either. So he took the only possibility and carried them.  
Without thinking anything, he carried them on and on. He didn´t rest or even halt. He carried them, until he noticed that he had reached the marketplace of the small village they stopped by the other day.  
He must have brought them here subconsciously.  
The villagers gathered around this disturbing sight. The elder came forward and started speaking to Tatsumi, who hardly took in his surroundings.

``What happened boy?´´ the elder asked with a concerned voice. He had noticed that something was off.  
When he got no answer, the elder reached out for Tatsumi´s arm slowly. Only when he touched Tatsumi´s elbow did the latter snap out of his state.

The elder tried again.  
``What happened boy?´´

``We found and killed the Danger Beast responsible for the disappearance of your fellow villagers.´´  
Tatsumi spoke with a voice full of sorrow, causing all the people nearby to pity him.

``They died fighting the Beast?´´ the elder did want to know.

``No. We were on our way back to tell you that we achieved our goal, when we were attacked by bandits. My friends got hit by arrows and died from their wounds. I survived because they knocked me out from behind!´´  
Tatsumi left out the part about speaking to Ieyasu one last time and about the true cause of Sayo´s death. He didn´t want to frighten and disturb the villagers.  
The Danger Beast was gone and the bandits had most likely run away.  
``When I woke up, I found their bodies, and I grieved for them for about a day. I couldn´t bury them there, but I didn´t want to do nothing either. Please allow me to bury them here!´´

The elder nodded. He felt responsible for their deaths since he sent them out on the village´s behalf. He thought this was the least he could do.  
After they had cleaned the corpses, they had shrouded them in fine silk-clothes and buried them in the nicest spot of their cemetery, a small hummock covered with flowers of all colours. They placed a gravestone on the hill, reminding everyone about their deed, which saved more villagers from dying.

Being finished with the burial, the villagers brought food to Tatsumi and gave him a place to rest. At first Tatsumi was unable to take a bite or even to sip from his water. He couldn´t rest either. But after nearly two days without something to drink or eat, his body was weakened.  
At some point his instincts told him to survive and he started to brace himself. Afterwards, he was taken by a deep slumber.

 _The three of them sat around a fire, broiling the meat of a deer they had killed before. Everyone looked at the meat with hungry eyes._  
 _``How are you doing, Tatsumi?´´ Sayo asked suddenly._

 _``Fine! Why?´´  
Tatsumi replied with a confused expression._

 _``Isn´t it obvious?´´  
Sayo looked at him with an expression of concern._

 _Tatsumi tried to think of a reason, but he couldn´t find one.  
``No!´´_

 _``She asked because you couldn´t say goodbye to her when she died. Not to mention, I died in your arms. We knew you for ages! There is no doubt that you couldn´t possibly be able to handle that!´´ Ieyasu answered for her._

 _``Stop making weird jokes. You´re sitting beside me right now. How could we talk if you were dead?´´  
Tatsumi didn´t know why the would make weird jokes like that, but it annoyed him._

 _``You´re dreaming, Tatsumi!´´ they said in unison._

 _``Stop messing with me!´´ shouted Tatsumi. Their joke made him pretty angry._

 _``We´re not messing with you! Don´t you remember? We both died after the bandits attacked us. You mourned our deaths for about a day, before you carried our corpses back to the last village we visited together. You begged them to bury us and helped them creating a grave and a memorial. After that, you went into a small hut and tried to strengthen yourself,´´ Sayo summarized what had happened._

 _``You weren´t able to, until your instincts took over and your body urged you to survive! After eating and drinking something, you fell deep asleep, and here we are!´´ Ieyasu added with a smile._

 _After hearing this, Tatsumi began to remember anything. Everything they said was right! He started panicking, what caused him to hyperventilate. Tears filled the corner of his eyes. His voice became desperate and full of sorrow. He wanted to repress his memories again, like he had before._  
 _``No, no, no, it´s not true!´´_

 _``It is!´´ they said, giving him no chance to do so._

 _``Why? Why did I survive, while you died?! We should have died together!´´  
Tatsumi was unable to control his emotions any longer.  
_ _He snapped out of it when Sayo slapped him hard across the face._

 _``Don´t you dare to think something like that! Everything has its reason and everyone has a purpose. Since we died, it´s your purpose to save our village!´´ Sayo stated._

 _``But, am I cut out for this?´´  
Tatsumi still doubted himself._

 _``Yes, you are,´´ Ieyasu laughed.  
``You always were the best fighter out of us three. Whatever you wanted us to do, we did it! We never doubted your decisions, because we knew that they were the best possible. It´s true, even if you never recognized it yourself.´´ _

_Sayo only nodded._

 _``But I wasn´t able to protect you!´´  
Tears filled the corner of Tatsumi´s eyes again._

 _``There was nothing you could have done back then! It was the fault of everyone! We were all too careless!´´ Ieyasu replied._

 _``But I don´t want to lose anyone else in the future!´´  
Tatsumi knew that he couldn´t stand to lose another person dear to him._

 _``Then become stronger! Use this incident as trigger to get stronger! Train hard and become able to fulfill your goals! Repeat this after me: I will become stronger and protect the weak!´´ demanded Sayo._

 _``I will become stronger and protect the weak!´´  
Tatsumi repeated the sentence barely loud enough for Sayo to hear it._

 _``Louder!´´  
Sayo did everything she could to encourage Tatsumi._

 _Tatsumi´s voice thundered in the darkness.  
``I will become stronger and protect the weak!´´_

 _``Put more vigor to it!´´  
Sayo still didn´t feel satisfied._

 _Again Tatsumi´s voice went stronger.  
``I will become stronger and protect the weak!´´_

 _``SCREAM IT WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT!´´  
Sayo knew it worked. She shouted at Tatsumi as loudly as possible._

 _``I WILL BECOME STRONGER AND PROTECT THE WEAK!´´  
Tatsumi roared with everything he had while tightening his fingers to fists. Finally, he had his self-confidence back._

 _``GOOD! If you´ll ever need us, we´ll be right here in your dreams.´´  
Sayo´s voice went back to her soft tone again. She knew the time to part ways had come and smiled at Tatsumi.  
``But now: Wake up and continue to grow stronger!´´_  
 _Tatsumi hugged Sayo one last time and gave Ieyasu one last high five; then he parted from his friends and his view went black._

 **The next morning**

``Did you get enough rest?´´ the elder asked with true concern, but was also a bit surprised.  
He had planned on cheering the boy up, but when he had entered the hut, Tatsumi had already been awake and done his morning-exercises. This boy didn´t look at all like the mental and physical wreck that had entered the village the day before.

``Yes I did!´´  
Tatsumi replied full of newly found enthusiasm.

``That´s good! Look boy, I talked to the villagers last evening and we agreed that you can stay here, if you want. If you´d like to, we would be happy to build you your own hut, or if you want to travel to some special place, our blacksmith agreed to make you a new sword. Some of us would accompany you, until you reach your destination,´´ the elder offered with genuine kindness.

``Thank you for your offer, but you have already helped me enough. Sayo and Ieyasu are buried in a nice and save place. I don´t have to worry about that matter anymore. Indeed, I´d like to continue my journey. I have to go to the Capital and earn enough money to save my own village. Since I only need one day more to reach the Capital, I should be able to go by myself. But if you could give me a sword and the payment we had agreed on for killing the Danger Beast a few days before, it would come in handy and I would be very grateful.´´  
While speaking, Tatsumi had finished his exercises. He wiped off the sweat of his bare upper body and looked at the elder with determined eyes.

The elder nodded. He didn´t know what it was that had changed the boy overnight, but he did know for sure that he couldn´t persuade the boy to stay.  
They brought Tatsumi a small brown leather-bag with a shoulder strap, a small clay bottle filled with water, a few strings of dried meat and a sword, as well as a small pouch filled with silver coins.  
Before he left, the villagers gathered around Tatsumi and wished him a safe trip and that he would be able to achieve his goal.

``Someday I´ll repay you for your kindness!´´  
Tatsumi turned around and started walking towards south, toward the Capital.  
He turned around one last time and waved the villagers goodbye before he disappeared out of their view behind a small hill.

Tatsumi went at a steady pase. He wanted to reach the Capital by the evening. Around noon he had gone half of the way.  
After resting for a short period of time he continued on his way, but now something was off. He had a feeling that somebody or something was watching him.

He didn´t know for sure, but this time, he wouldn´t let himself be distracted by his own thoughts.  
He continued walking like before, since he didn´t want his observer to pull back, but he paid attention to every noise and movement around him.

Thanks to this, he heard when an arrow was launched behind him. He turned around on the spot and drew his sword out of its sheath attached to his back, and with a fluent movement of his right arm, he cut the incoming arrow in half. A second arrow was launched instantly, but it was no obstacle. He cut it down like the first one.

``Seems like it isn´t working this time. And I thought I could avoid a direct fight again.´´  
A voice from shadows called out in annoyance.  
A man about 1.98 meters tall walked out of the bushes to Tatsumi´s right, followed by two men nearly the same size. Tatsumi, who was just about 1.65 meters tall, had to look up to see their faces.  
They were covered with dirt and scars. Their heads were swathed in big linen clothes, helping them against the warmth of the day, as well as the cold of the night. Most of their teeth were rotten; a few were even missing some. They all had big, muscular bodies, covered with old, dirty clothes full of holes. Their brown pants were worn out and ended in fringes. They all wore already worn out shoes.

``You can come out, Stan!´´  
After the tall man, seemingly the leader, said this, a fourth man walked over to them, carrying a bow and a few arrows inside a leather-bag, which was attached to his hip. He looked just like the other men.

``Hey boy, we don´t intent to kill you. If we´d wanted do it, we´d have done it at our last **meeting.** ´´  
The leader paused to let out a small chuckle.  
``So if you give us all your belongings, we´ll let you live this time too.´´  
Again he laughed.

``You said you don´t wish to fight or kill me, but you were the ones that killed my friends last time, weren´t you!´´ Tatsumi said gritting his teeth.  
His voice was full of anger and hatred towards the four men.

``Watch your mouth boy! We only wounded them! We didn´t kill them! Or at least, we didn´t kill the boy! And if the small bitch would have enjoyed my **present** as much as I had, instead of screaming and whining in my ears and pleading me to stop, there wouldn´t have been a need to shut her up!´´  
The men laughed.  
``She should have been happy and thankful! I mean she got a real man for her first time!´´  
The men laughed again, ignoring Tatsumi´s facial expression, that had turned into pure hate and rage.  
``That **meeting** was so nice! I wish the girl would be here right n-´´  
His sentence was disrupted, when an upwards directed sword slash swiftly decapitated him. A fountain of blood shot into the air.

Tatsumi did no longer stand in the middle of the four men, but behind the headless leader, whose body fell to the ground.  
Seeing this, the two men that stood behind the leader attacked with drawn swords. They wanted him to pay for what he did. But Tatsumi was prepared. His eyes had turned dull; no thoughts crossed his mind.  
He parried the downwards slash from the man on the left with his sword, kicking him in the stomach afterwards. The second man raised his sword with both arms, aiming to cut Tatsumi in half. But Tatsumi sprung back and let the man strike into the ground, where he had stood a moment before.  
With another swift slash, he cut off both of the man´s hands, still holding the sword. The bandit cried in pain and fell to his knees, only to become the second one to be decapitated.  
The first man, watching his second comerade die, got back to his feet, still feeling the pain in his stomach and launched forward. But before he could react, Tatsumi was right in front of him and impaled him on his sword.  
Seeing this display of brute force, the archer decided to run for his life. But Tatsumi was faster, cutting off his left leg. The man fell to the ground with a scream of agony. He started begging for his life while crying.  
``Please; don´t do i-´´  
He didn´t finish his sentence, when Tatsumi drove his sword into the man´s head.

He didn´t know what had happened, but when he came back to his senses, the four bandits were massacred.  
Tatsumi was still holding his sword, covered in blood. He looked at what he had done, but he couldn´t feel sorry for this trash.  
Nevertheless, he swore to himself that he would learn to control his emotions better.  
He shook off the blood of his sword, attached it back on his back, turned around and walked on, like nothing has happened before, leaving the corpses to rot in the burning sun.

 **In the late afternoon**

Tatsumi was stunned. He stood on a hill, making it possible to oversee a part of the Capital, that covered roughly 200,000 square kilometers.  
It was the first time in his life, he saw something that impressive.  
A white wall, that seemed to be at least 120 meters high, surrounded a wide amount of cottages and houses. There were buildings of each colour, height and length. Some looked rather cheap, some very expensive. The big streets and small alleys leading through the city could only be reached by entering the city through one of the four big gates that were each placed in Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern direction. They were twice as high as wide, with a height of about 24 meters.  
Each gate was guarded by at least 20 soldiers at a time.

He could see the palace on the horizon, which was built right in the center of the Capital. It was by far the biggest and highest, as well as the most extravagant looking building in the whole Capital. It was surrounded by its own walls, being nearly twice as high as the outer walls. Nevertheless, its green coloured roofs peeked out over them. Its single gate was only half of the size of the gates of the outer wall, but was secured by thrice as many men as an outer gate.  
The different towers of the palace, that still loomed over the wall, were connected to each other as well as to the main building via bridges.  
The villas to its base had to be the different homes of the highest nobility as well as the highest military leaders.  
Still impressed, Tatsumi started to walk towards the Northern gate, ready to start a new chapter of his life in the Capital.  
After twenty more minutes, Tatsumi had finally reached the Northern gate.

``Where are you heading?´´  
A tall guard in a shining silver armour approached Tatsumi, when he was about to enter.

``Me?´´ Tatsumi asked, pointing at himself with a slightly anxious expression.

``Yes!´´  
The guard stood right in front of Tatsumi now, giving him a determined glare.

``I´m coming from the Northern border. I want to enlist myself in the army,´´ Tatsumi said a little sheepishly.  
In the meantime the guard checked his bag and his sword for a few moments.

``You are free to go! Follow this street and you´ll reach the recruitment office directly!´´  
The guard turned around and stepped back to his former position.  
Still a bit meek, Tatsumi finally entered the Capital, following the main street, the guard had pointed out earlier.

 **A hour later**

``Finally, I´ve made it. To think that I would walk past the office and have to go half of the way back,´´ Tatsumi said to himself while letting out a sigh.  
 _`Not that it matters. I´ll just have to go inside and enlist myself. Sayo, Ieyasu, I´ll make sure that our village will be saved!´  
_  
Tatsumi went inside. The building was much bigger than it seemed from the outside. Around ten desks were placed in two rows. Five in each, standing parallel to one another. Behind the desks sat the recruitment-officers taking care of the people that wanted to enlist. Tatsumi waited for his turn. When another recruit finally left, he went straight to the desk.

``What do you want?´´ the black-haired officer asked with an uninterested voice, not looking up from his files.

``I´d like to enlist in the army!´´ Tatsumi answered enthusiastically.

``Ok. Sign here and you´ll start as a recruit.´´  
The officer looked up from the files and reached Tatsumi a form.

``I´d like to start higher as that if possible, Sir!´´  
Tatsumi wasn´t able to hide his disappointment. The officer didn´t even bother to test his abilities.

``Do you think you´re something better than the other recruits?´´ the officer asked with a harsh voice.

``By no means, Sir!´´  
Tatsumi tried his hardest to calm the officer down.  
``I just need to earn money for my village. As a grunt I wouldn´t be able to earn enough.´´

``You can sign this or you can leave! Since many people want to enlist, there is no other option!´´  
The officer couldn´t hide his annoyance anymore.

``Please give me a chance! I would do anything! I even would clean barracks for the next ten years, if I could just earn more money!´´  
Tatsumi pleaded like he wanted an enemy to spare his life. He even bowed before the officer. He didn´t notice his voice growing louder with each word, getting the attention of the other people in the building.

 _`Enough is enough! I´ll kick that annoying brat out of here!´_  
Just when the officer was about to go through with his thoughts, he noticed the faces of his colleagues on the other desks, looking at him as pleading as the boy´s face.  
 _`No way! They´re on his side?! If I kick him out now, they could report me to the boss for any reason one day! That could cost me my job! Damn brat! Creating such a situation! What should I do?!´  
_  
Right at this moment he noticed a file, which was placed on the corner of his desk. He knew it too well. It was a request for reinforcements to the army stationed in the North under _**HER**_ command. A devilish grin showed on his face, that the still pleading Tatsumi didn´t notice.  
 _`I´ll make this boy learn the lesson of his life! Trying to guilt-trip me. Pah! On the other side my colleagues will be pleased with me being so `generous´ towards him and I will make a better quota. It shouldn´t be a problem that the files are already heading north with a messenger since yesterday. 200 men are better than 199 after all!´  
_  
He tried to assume a look of concern and innocence, that seemed as genuine as it could, and said with a now convinced sounding tone:  
``Ok. You´ve persuaded me. I´ll offer you a better position.´´

``Really?!´´  
Tatsumi´s eyes widened in surprise. He couldn´t believe that he was able to change the officer´s mind.

``Yes, really.´´  
The officer looked around for a second. His colleagues seemed pleased by his `kindness´ and turned back to their own work.

``What is it?´´ Tasumi asked with a mix of skepticism and excitement. He was happy to get an assignment, but he couldn´t imagine what kind of assignment.

``You´ll be assigned to one of the Empires frontlines!´´ the officer responded with a cheering tone.

``Already, without training?´´  
Tatsumi was surprised the officer would change his mind that fundamentally.

``It´s an urgent request; you´ll head to the North this evening!´´ the officer answered, trying to scatter Tatsumi´s doubts.

``The North! I have to return already?!´´ Tatsumi said with a look of disappointment.

``You´ll be part of a caravan with supplies. I think this will be much faster and easier than your way to the Capital. Besides it´s the only offer; take it or leave it!´´ The officer´s voice hardened again. He knew he had lured Tatsumi in his trap. Soon this brat would be gone.

``I´ll take it!´´  
The boy gave the awaited answer instantly. The officer had to smile.

``Then sign here!´´  
He gave Tatsumi another sheet and a pen.

``But-´´ Tatsumi started with a thoughtful tone.

 _`Damn it! How pestering can this brat be!´  
_ The officer tried his hardest to pull off his masquerade until the end.

``-what about the payment?´´  
Tatsumi had to make sure he would earn enough to help his village.

The officer pointed on a lable on the sheet; it said 60%.  
``I thought you would ask this question! It´s simple! As foot soldier your weekly payment increases with the risk percentage of your assigned mission. A risk up to 10% means 20 silver pieces, one up to 20% means 30, one up to 30% means 40 and so on. This post is labeled 60%! That means you´ll earn 70 silver pieces a week. Making it 280 within a month.´´

``And if I die?´´  
Tatsumi didn´t want to think about this possibility, but if he did want to save his village, he would have to know about the worst case.

With a compassionate look the officer placed another sheet in front of Tatsumi.  
``On this sheet you can list your benefactor and their address. In case of death the money you have earned up until then will be doubled and sent to them. After one month for example it would be 560 silver pieces!´´

``That could be enough to help my village!´´  
With these words Tatsumi signed up on both sheets.

 _`Where you are going, it won´t matter for you! You won´t last a week!´_  
While thinking this the officer had to restrain from grinning.  
``Congratulations and welcome to the Empire´s army!´´ he said with an encouraging voice.

 _`I made it Sayo, Ieyasu! I´ll be able to help our families and friends!´_  
The thoughts of his friends crossed Tatsumi´s mind. He knew they would be proud of him. ``Thank you very much, Sir!´´ Tatsumi bowed again.

``No problem! But now we´ve to hurry! The convoy won´t wait for you and you still need your equippment!´´  
The officer took an empty paper and hastily wrote down something.  
``With this requisition order you´ll get your uniform from the quartermaster. You´ll find him half the way back to the Northern gate. From there the convoy will be departing in about two hours. You should hurry!´´

``Thank you!´´  
Tatsumi bowed one last time. Then he turned around and went straight out of the building.

The officer chuckled.  
 _`Finally this pest is gone! And for me all has worked out. Sorry kid, but it´s your fault for trying to mess with me! If you are not killed by Danger Beasts, then by Northerners! Or far worse than death: **SHE** will have **HER** way with you!´_  
Thinking about this last possibility, even the cold-hearted officer felt some sympathy for Tatsumi, while he shivered in fear.  
 _`Let´s hope you´re not that unlucky, brat. Let´s hope that you won´t give this crazy psychopath a reason to lay her focus on you!_  
 _Nobody deserves **HER** treatment!´_

Tatsumi didn´t know about anything of this. On his way to the quartermaster he could just think about helping his village.  
He knew that this assignment would change his future, but even he couldn´t have imagined its true meaning for him at that time!  
And so he went on to follow his purpose without looking back.

 **Last but not least my first chapter is finished. I hope you liked it.  
At this point I´d like to thank/mention a few people:  
Thanks to ``Real Personal Trooper Type-0´´ for his permission to use the basic idea of his story and to ``thedog318´´ for his permission to use some of his story´s gadgets. Both of their ``Akame ga kill´´- fanfics inspired me to write my own.  
But the biggest gratitude goes to ``InDeathWeLaugh´´ and ``Love reading 3.14´´ for supporting this story from the scratch. Thanks to their support and especially their Beta-reading I think this story became quite good for a first try :)  
I hope ``InDeathWeLaugh´´ will update his ``Akame ga kill´´- fanfic soon ;)  
Finally I´d like to thank my friends who encouraged me to write and publish my own fanfic.**

 **Feel free to follow, ask questions or make reviews. All that will help me to improve and write even more enjoyable stories :)  
** **Feel free to contact me via PM.** **I will try to read and answer/consider all questions/reviews.  
Constructive criticism isn´t only alleowed but requested ;)**

 **Since I´m a student myself, I´ll probably need about a month for the next chapter, but I will try my best to finish it earlier.**  
 **So have a nice time and fun until then and keep reading and enjoying the fanfics you like ;)**

 **Marcel M**


	2. Chapter 2: Kill the Inequity (Part 2)

**Welcome back ;)**

 **After nearly 3 weeks I´m back in business.**  
 **Thanks for your patience :)**

 **Time to answer some questions:**  
 **1) orca3553: For some of the readers the quotation-marks may seem strange, since I´m writing American style. I´ll remember that for future stories, but I´ll finish this story the way I started it (looks better :))  
2) Materick: Right now I can only confirm the pairing Tatsumi X Esdeath; I´m not sure if there will be lemons; write your opinions about that in the review section :)  
3) MaiBilaro: Naturally, I DON´T support any form of (sexual) violence in Real-life; I had a hard time writing the rape scene, but considered it necessary for the story-plot; just to be clear: Rape shouldn´t be taken lightly and I hope I didn´t offend anybody with that scene; if that should be the case, I hereby sincerely apologize!  
4) I´ll try to shorten unnecessary scenes and emotional stuff a bit more; I definitely won´t use that much sweet talk in my story (no Tatsu-bunny, Tatsu-babe, my love, etc. at the end of each of Esdeath´s sentences) ;)  
5) anotherboarduser: I won´t tell who will die and who will survive; that would cease the tension. But feel free to make assumptions per review; eventually I´ll pick up an idea or two ;)**

 **That concludes todays question and answer segment.**  
 **Now enjoy the story ;)**

DISCLAIMER:  
I DON´T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO THE "AKAME GA KILL"-FRANCHISE.  
THE MANGA WAS WRITTEN BY TAKAHIRO AND ILLUSTRATED BY TETSUYA TASHIRO.  
THIS FANFIC HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN FOR PROFIT!IT MAY CONTAINS SPOILER!

 **I forgot to mention it last time, but it should be clear since the basic story is `Akame ga Kill´and this is rated `M´:  
** **This work may contain gory scenes and sexual or insulting language!**

 **Chapter 2: Kill the Inequity (Part 2)**

Tatsumi felt more nervous than ever. Finally, the time to head North had come.

Following the directions of the recruitment-officer he found the quartermaster and got his equipment. It consisted of grey military pants, a black shirt, a grey tie slightly brighter than the pants, a grey coat reaching his knees, black military riding-boots as well as a grey helmet made of a very light steel and a mask made of a thin layer of metal covering his face. Since he had his own sword, he didn´t need one from the military stocks. Instead he got a small multifunction knife he could use in most possible circumstances. A black belt around Tatsumi´s waist held the coat in form and made it easier to move in; especially during a fight.

He put his clothes and other belongings into his bag and went towards the Northern gate. The carriages already stood at the place right behind the gate. There were about thirty covered wagons. Ten of them were loaded either with food or with military equipment. The rest stood there, waiting for the last soldiers to get in.

But something felt odd for Tatsumi. The nearer he got the more despair polluted the air around him.

 _`What´s this feeling? I can´t sense anyhing but sorrow and fear. Something´s off!´  
_ Tatsumi couldn´t help but shiver. He never felt something like this before.

When he had reached the wagons, he let his eyes wander. All the soldiers sitting inside, as well as those still entering, made depressed faces. Slowly he went from wagon to wagon, searching for an empty place. His mood darkened with every step, sensing the despair more and more. But he knew there was no turning back for him. He had come this far to help his village; he would do anything necessary. Finally, he found an empty seat. He was just about to climb onto the wagon, when he noticed a small commotion a few meters behind him. He couldn´t help but turn around to see what was happening.

``No! Don´t leave us! There are other ways!´´  
A woman dressed in dirty and torn clothes screamed with a desperate expression at a soldier in front of her. She had grabbed the man´s hand with her left, holding a baby in her right arm. The baby was wrapped up in old sheets.

``There is no other way! I tried to find one. Don´t make this harder than it already is and let me go!´´ the man pleaded, looking sadly at her.

``But what about us?! Who will care for us if something happens to you?! Stay with us! See your child growing up. It has the right to get to know its father.´´  
The woman started crying. Her whole body shivered.

``If I stay here, our child won´t get old enough to get to know me. I have to go! If I want you and our child to live a better life, there is no other option.´´  
The man took his wife´s arm with his free hand and loosened her grip on his hand and finally pulled it out.  
``I promise I´ll try to come back as soon as possible.´´  
With those words he turned around and walked towards the wagons.

``But-´´  
His wife couldn´t finish her sentence, when two guards pushed her slightly away from the wagons, while the soldier took a seat in the wagon next to Tatsumi´s. The soldier looked back with a sad expression one last time. Afterwards he closed the cover. Tatsumi stood there in shock. He couldn´t move an inch. He didn´t know what he should think about the farewell he witnessed just now.

``We´re about to leave. Get in or stay here!´´  
Another guard appeared next to Tatsumi, speaking to him with a commanding tone. Hearing this, Tatsumi snapped out of his shock and climbed onto the wagon, closing the cover behind him. The wagons started moving right after he took his seat.

 _`That farewell just now was normal. Every family would try to persuade their beloved ones not to go to war.´  
_ Tatsumi tried to convince himself. He wouldn´t accept that the soldiers traveling with him could be that depressed and desperate.  
 _`I´m sure-´  
_ He couldn´t finish his thoughts, when an elderly man sitting across from him, not taller than himself, started talking.

``Poor boy. What for god´s sake led to you head to the Northern front?´´  
The man´s voice sounded full of compassion.  
``What crime did you commit to be sent there?´´

``Crime? I didn´t commit a crime. I enlisted voluntarily!´´  
Tatsumi didn´t understand the elderly´s concern. In which way could it be bad to head North?

The old man´s expression turned from one of pity to one of anger.  
``Voluntarily?! Who in the world would enlist to such a job voluntarily? And much worse: Who would at your age?! Are you that eager to die a horrible death? Didn´t your parents try to stop you back at the Capital?´´  
The man couldn´t help but shout at Tatsumi. Tatsumi was stunned. The man´s reaction as well as the similar expressions on the faces of the other recruits made him feel uneasy.

``P-Parents? I-I´m an o-orphan f-from the N-Northern border. I c-came to the C-Capital to enlist in the a-army to help my p-poor village,´´ Tatsumi stuttered nervously.

``Oh! So you aren´t from the Capital, but from the countryside.´´  
The elder´s expression changed back to pity, so did the expressions of the other men.

``Poor boy. That means some recruitment-officer tricked you into this job when he noticed that you were clueless.´´  
A black-haired man sitting to Tatsumi´s left spoke up. He was about a head taller than Tatsumi, but seemed to be slightly thinner.

``Tricked me into this job? I don´t get it. I´m doing this because the payment is good. Even if I´m killed, my village will get enough silver to provide better life-conditions.´´  
Tatsumi didn´t like the attitude of those men. It made him feel more uneasy than ever before in his life.

``That´s not completely right kid,´´ the old man said while stroking through his grey beard with his right hand.

``What do you mean?´´  
That statement got Tatsumi´s full attention.

``You only get the silver if you´re killed by the enemy during combat or after capture. If you´re killed by soldiers of the Empire you won´t get anything.´´  
The elder couldn´t hold back a contemptuous snort.

``Killed by our own men? Are you insane?! No soldier would do something like this!´´  
Tatsumi couldn´t believe that the man would try to tell him such tales.

``Oh, it´s true. I heard it from former soldiers! _**HER**_ troops are capable of doing things like that. They say _**SHE**_ does those things herself, if she´s bored. _**SHE**_ isn´t called the `Ice-Queen´ for nothing.´´  
The man had to shiver only by mentioning her name.

``The `Ice-Queen´? Who´s that?´´  
Tatsumi looked rather confused. This was the first time hearing that nickname.

``Since you´re from the countryside you probably haven´t heard of her. She´s also called `The Empire´s Strongest´. The strongest general and warrior of the entire Empire! Her name is _**Esdeath**_!´´  
Mentioning her name the old man felt his blood freeze in his veins. The entire wagon went silent the instant he had mentioned the name. Nobody dared to make a noise. Tatsumi looked around. Everybody shivered.

 _`Maybe those aren´t tales. Can someone like that possibly exist?´  
_ The panic spread from the men to Tatsumi _  
`That damn officer! If I ever get the chance, I´ll repay him!´_

``But if that´s true, why would all of you sign up for this mission?´´  
If the things Tatsumi just heard were true, he had to know the reasons for their assignment. It was impossible they were all tricked into enlisting like he himself.

``Most of us enlisted because our families are starving.´´  
The man next to Tatsumi started to speak again with a depressed voice.  
``I´ve three kids and a wife. I worked as a jewelry-salesman for a long time. But since my products weren´t good enough for the nobility, and the normal people became unable to buy unnecessary items due to rising taxes, I had to close my store. Since no one would employ an inexperienced guard, I had to enlist in the army. This job is the only one with enough payment to help my family.´´  
After finishing he took a deep breath.

``I, for my part, was a former soldier. I retired due to my age five years ago,´´ the old man stated calmly.  
``But my daughter became pregnant and her husband died fighting in the North. I´m the only person able to earn a good salary now. So I had to enlist again.´´  
He let out a sigh.  
``The rest of the men in this convoy have similar circumstances or are thieves that got the option to choose between imprisonment, torture, even the death-sentence, or an enlistment to the Northern front. Probably this is the worst option, but if they get to survive, they´ll at least be paid.´´  
Tatsumi looked around. The men nodded. It was the last chance for each of them.

``I´m very sorry to hear that.´´  
Tatsumi couldn´t help but pity all of them. Even if he was tricked into this job, he knew he was strong enough to stand a chance to survive. But looking at those men, who seemed in a bad condition due to starving, he knew that most of them wouldn´t stand the slightest chance.

``That´s life these days. Nobody can change it anymore. Now it means going all the way.´´  
The old man looked at Tatsumi with a little smile.  
``Since we´ll stick together for a while, we should at least introduce ourselves. I´m Shin.´´

``I´m Steve, nice to meet you.´´  
The man to Tatsumi´s right turned his head towards him and reached out for a short shake-hands.

``And I´m Tatsumi!´´ he answered with a bright smile. And like that, all men in the wagon introduced themselves one after another.

 **Half a month later**

They had continued their journey at a steady pace and only stopped when the horses needed to rest or when a wagon got stuck to pull him out again. The further they got into the North, the slower they could move due to the amount of snow and ice. But during this amount of time a bond had formed between the men. They did not only become friends, but understood themselves as part of a family. They forgot their fear and smiled and laughed together and enjoyed their way, until the day they came near the camp. Since the officers told them they would reach it by the afternoon, they were silent. Tatsumi could feel the fear of his comrades; he saw them shiver again.  
The time passed on, until the wagon stopped abruptly. Shortly after that the cover was lifted.

``We´ve arrived! Get out and help us unload the wagons!´´  
One of the officers stood in front of Tatsumi and looked at the men in the wagon.  
They did as commanded and got off of the wagon to help the soldiers unloading the supplies. After they were finished they had to line up and were checked by another officer, seemingly a captain.  
They were told to set up their three-men tents next to the camp.

``You grunts will have to prove yourselves in battle in order to be accepted!´´  
The captain paced up and down the line of recruits.  
``The enemy´s main-forces are gathering in their capital at the moment. The general has planned to attack it by tomorrow morning. Until then you should rest. Your food has been prepared already. Each of you´ll get one ration. You´ll get it after your tents are set up.´´  
With those words the captain turned around and walked back towards the main-camp, leaving the recruits with a few soldiers.

``You´ve heard the captain! So start working, bastards!´´ one of the soldiers shouted, causing the others to laugh.  
Like the captain, he wore a white jacket over the common uniform. But different from the captain´s uniform, he only had one stripe embroidered on his shoulder instead of two.  
Tatsumi knew instantly he didn´t like this lieutenant. But even so, he started working, following the given orders as well as the other recruits. He didn´t want to get a chance to find out, if the rumors he heard earlier were actually true.

 **The general´s tent**

 _`So the new recruits have arrived. A bunch of weaklings again! I saw each of their files I got sent before their departure from the Capital. None of them seems worth of fighting in my army. But I´ll give them a chance to prove me wrong tomorrow, when they´ll have to fight in the first line!´  
_ The General grinned. She liked the thought of testing her new toys. But much more than that she liked the idea of punishing them for failing. She took her notebook from the table in front of her and opened it, only to look at some disturbing drawings of brutal torture.  
 _  
`Those who die were to weak and the rest will be used to my likeness. I´m sure I´ll find a way to have some_ _ **fun**_ _with them. I could test some new ideas on those who won´t fight hard enough tomorrow!´  
_ Her grin widened. She was just about to look over her notes again, when a soldier burst into her tent out of breath.

``What´s the matter in disturbing me without permission?! It better be good or you´ll have to face the consequences!´´  
She shot a death-glare at the soldier, causing him to shiver with his whole body.

Fearing for his life, the soldier stared informing her of the important circumstances.  
``I-I´m sorry, M-ma´am! B-but the r-recruits are u-under attack b-by e-enemy forces!´´  
He couldn´t help but stutter the whole time.

``Splendid!´´  
The general´s expression turned from anger to pure joy.  
``I can test my new toys earlier than expected!´´  
With those words she stood up and stormed out of her tent towards the recruits´ camp, leaving the pale soldier behind without giving him another look.

 **Five minutes before**

They had followed the caravan for two days at least. Now they had hit the jackpot.

 _`To think that we would find a supply transport of the Empire while trying to figure out the enemy´s strength!´  
_ Hiding in some bushes behind the enemy´s camp, the Northern officer smiled at this turn of events.  
 _`Numa Seika will be very pleased to get my report. We found the enemy camp´s location and were able to estimate their overall number and strength. Those recruits seem to be inexperienced. We should be able to beat them and destroy their supplies. Even if we die, it should throw them back in their plans for about two weeks. That could be enough to prepare our army in Winterberg.´_  
He trusted in his men. He knew that his thoughts weren´t off.

``You!´´  
He pointed at one of his fellow soldiers.  
``Go back to Winterberg and inform Numa of their number and strength. Tell him that the rest of us will have bought time for our army to prepare itself for combat. He´ll understand that this sacrifice will have been necessary.´´  
The soldier nodded, turned around and went in the direction of Winterberg as fast as he could without being noticed by the enemy.

The captain turned to his remaining twenty-nine men and started to speak with a low voice, so that the enemy wouldn´t notice them:  
``Finally, it´s time for us to fight back!´´  
The men looked at him with determination.  
``Even if I feel sorry for those newbies there, we´ll attack them from behind, while they´re setting up their tents. Our main-goal is to destroy all of their supplies and take out as many of them as possible before the other soldiers are able to react. I know that some of you or even myself can and probably will die, but with this sacrifice we should be able to buy some time for our main-forces at Winterberg. Don´t get yourselves killed unnecessary! Retreat as soon as their supplies are destroyed! Afterwards make them lose track of you, before you return to Winterberg!´´  
Again the soldiers nodded.  
``Good! Then-´´  
The men readied themselves for combat while their officer turned towards the enemy´s camp.  
``-ATTACK!´´

 **At the same time**

They were still setting up their tents under the eyes of the Lieutenant and his men, when they saw a group of enemy-soldiers jump out of the bushes behind them and attack. The first of the recruits fell victim to this attack without the chance to draw his sword. Tatsumi and his friends had more luck than him. Though they were surprised by this turn of events, they stood too far from the bushes to be killed in shock. They drew their swords and ran towards their comrades, determined to defend themselves and their supplies against the enemy.

 **Esdeath**

She could hear the sound of clashing steel as she came closer to the spot of the fight. None of her men had dared to interfere with the fight without her order.

``General, it seems that the recruits have problems with the attackers. Should we intervene and save our supplies?´´  
One of her commanding officers named Luke ran towards her upon seeing the general. Until now he had managed to hold back his men from interfering. He didn´t want to give orders as long as she was present. The risk of angering her was just too high and that was something he tried to avoid at any circumstances.

``No! Order the men to stand back. The recruits shall fight on their own. I don´t wish anyone to intervene. Every soldier who attempts to do so will be punished by myself!´´  
She looked at Luke with cold eyes and a devilish grin. He had to suppress a shiver.

``Understood, Ma´am!´´  
Luke saluted to the general before turning around and heading back to his men to deliver her orders.

 _`Now let´s enjoy the show!´  
_ Her grin widened at this thought. She took a good position next to her men to overlook the whole battle, ignoring the frightened glares of her subordinates.

 **Tatsumi**

``Steve, Shin, are you alright?´´  
Tatsumi had lost the overview. They had already pushed back the attackers and helped their other comrades to establish a defense-line around the supplies. Even though half of the enemy-forces were already killed, they wouldn´t pull back.  
But the situation didn´t look better for Tatsumi and his friends. Many recruits were dead, most of the surviving ones wounded.  
He looked around. The soldiers didn´t seem like they would help them. The lieutenant and his men had pulled back and didn´t take part in the fight. Tatsumi knew they had to win this fight on their own.

 _`We´ve to take out their commanding officer. If they lose their leader, they may lose their formation, too.´  
_ While he thought that, Tatsumi observed something interesting. One of the enemy-soldiers seemed to give signs to his comrades. He instantly knew that he had found their leader.

``Yeah, Tatsumi! We´re all right. Sorry. It took us a while to find you after hearing your voice.´´  
Steve and Shin had made their way through their comrades and stood right behind Tatsumi now. Both were glad that the youth was alright, too.

``That´s good news!´´  
Tatsumi turned his head and gave them a slight smile.  
``I could use your help. Seems like I found their leader; I´d like to take him out as fast as possible, but you need to create an opening for me. Are you with me?´´ Both of his friends nodded.  
``Great! I already have an idea. We´ll do the following-´´

 **Esdeath**

 _`It´s getting boring!´  
_ The general had lost her interest in this `fight´. The recruits were still holding their line of defense, while the enemy-forces were gathering to try to strike again. But for her it wasn´t entertaining at all.  
 _  
`Seems like I should end this. That way I´ll have at least a bit of fun. Those recruits don´t seem promising at all. Maybe I´ll test some new ideas for torture with them. It wouldn´t be fun to simply kill them after all.´  
_ The general was just about to end this poor display as something picked her interest again.  
The recruits parted in two nearly equally big groups and attacked the surprised enemy from both sides, leaving only a single young soldier behind.

 _`Hmm. Did they finally decide to go all out on the enemy? I should wait and see what they´re capable of. I underestimated them. But it seems that this one isn´t even worth being considered a recruit. He´s too frightened to fight with the others. How pathetic; how weak! I think that I´ll use him as my first test-subject, no matter what happens. I can´t stand-´  
_ Her thoughts were disrupted, when she saw the young soldier suddenly pushing forward as fast as he could. He launched right through the now split enemy-forces, attacking a group of five men in the background.

 _`How interesting! It seems that he recognized their leader. It seems that this young soldier isn´t that incapable. Let´s see what he can pull off alone against five!´  
_ She couldn´t help but smile at this change of the recruits´ attitude.

 **Tatsumi**

It seemed to work as planned. Steve and Shin had talked to the other recruits and convinced them to take part in Tatsumi´s plan. The men had split into two equally big groups and attacked the enemies from both sides, creating an opening for him.  
He had waited patiently until he saw his chance to attack the enemies´ commander and the remaining soldiers around him. He leapt at them as fast as he could, using his momentum to slice through the first soldier in a matter of seconds. Surprised by the sudden attack, the remaining soldiers couldn´t react before Tatsumi had impaled the second one with his sword.  
The commander was the first one to realise the situation, ordering his men to fight the youth, giving him the opportunity to coordinate their defense. Regaining their composure, the soldiers started striking at Tatsumi from both sides simultaneously. He was barely able to avoid all those strikes, but somehow he managed to lose only his helmet and his mask. He stayed in movement all the time, blocking the swords with his own, luring the soldiers out of their defensive position by pulling back.

``NOW!´´  
Without hesitation Tatsumi leapt forward again, surprising both of the soldiers, distracting them from Shin and Steve who charged at them from both sides.  
Thinking of the youth as an inexperienced enemy led the soldiers right into Tatsumi´s trap. While focused on fighting him, they didn´t notice Tatsumi´s friends preparing themselves for a charge at the right moment. Surprised by Tatsumi´s sudden attack, they focused only on his movement. When they saw his comrades, it was too late. While one of the soldiers was beheaded, the other cried out in pain. Somehow, he had managed to distract the strike of his enemy at his head. Nonetheless, he had achieved a mortal wound.  
That was the opening, Tatsumi did want to achieve. He launched forward again, attacking the surprised commander and beheading him in a matter of seconds. Upon seeing that, the enemy-forces lost their formation and were defeated in a short time.  
The fight was over as Tatsumi went back to his friends, standing next to a heavily injured enemy.

``I-I beg y-you! P-Please!´´  
The soldier looked at them with pleading eyes. He had enough of this pain. He only wanted to die a quick death instead of a painful one.  
The friends looked at each other, agreeing in the man´s last wish. Just as Shin was about to stab through the soldiers heart, they heard a commanding voice from behind.

``Stop! Let this scum die in agony!´´  
It was the lieutenant in company of his men. They stopped right in front of Tatsumi and his friends.

``Sir! I think this man-´´  
Tatsumi couldn´t finish his sentence, as the Lieutenant barked at him.

``That´s an order!´´  
The lieutenant looked at Tatsumi with cold eyes, causing the young male to shiver. Even if they didn´t like it; an order was an order. They nodded. Satisfied, the officer turned around and started to walk away, when he heard the sound of metal cutting through flesh and a death sigh. Instantly he turned around, seeing Shin over the now impaled body of the enemy.

``This man had suffered enough. It´s just right to redeem him.´´  
Shin looked at the officer with a determined expression.  
``I´m sorry that I had to-´´  
He was stopped mid-sentence, when the officer drove his fist into Shin´s stomach, forcing the old soldier to his knees. Hearing the commotion, the remaining recruits had formed a circle around the display.

``I´ll kill you! I can´t stand people ignoring my orders. I´ll take your head!´´  
The lieutenant pulled his sword, aiming to behead the old man. But to his surprise his strike towards the man´s head was stopped by another sword. When he turned his head to the side, he looked right into Tatsumi´s eyes who had forced the lieutenant´s sword to stop just a moment ago.

``I won´t let that happen!´´  
Tatsumi stared at the officer with determination and anger. None of his friends would die as long as he could prevent it.

``Then there is no choice but to kill you, too!´´ the officer said with an evil grin.

 **Esdeath**

She was slightly impressed. The boy had managed to overwhelm his enemies with brains and strength. For the first time since long she didn´t feel bored at all. Something about him had piqued her interest during the fight. But she couldn´t say exactly what.

``General, shall we arrest the recruits for ignoring the orders of a superior and rising a sword against him?´´  
Even if she didn´t show it, she was surprised that Luke suddenly stood next to her. Was she that deep in thought?  
She noticed the situation that had evolved between the boy and one of her higher ranked soldiers only now.

``No!´´  
She was surprised by that answer herself. Normally she´d have arrested and _**played**_ with them. But this time she had other interests.  
``Let them continue! It might be fun to watch them.´´  
After a quick salute, Luke turned around and went back to his place.

 _`It seems that those soldiers were too weak for him as enemies. Let´s see how he´ll do against one of my men.´  
_ While thinking that she paid all her attention to the boy again. Something told her that he would play a big role in the near future. She didn´t notice that she smiled genuinely and without further intentions for the first time in so many years.

 **Tatsumi**

He´d never had an opponent that strong. The lieutenant slashed at him with all his strength. He could evade most of the strikes but got a few little scratches and cuts. He let his eyes wander around. Nobody seemed like they were going to help him. The general herself stood amongst the soldiers, watching the fight with a slight smile. Tatsumi was pushed back step by step. He couldn´t help but feel the fear of death, even if he knew that he couldn´t die here yet. The lieutenant saw through Tatsumi´s exterior without a problem, causing him to snicker.

``It´s your own fault for interfering, boy! You should have stayed out of this. Now I´m forced to kill you!´´  
The officer tried faking a compassionate face, but he couldn´t hide the enjoyment and satisfaction he felt.  
``And after I´m finished with you, I´ll move on to that grandpa! God, he´ll wish he never was born!´´  
The laughing officer ignored the anger and murderous intent building up in Tatsumi.  
``And who knows; if I´m finished with him, I might move on to some of the others.´´  
Hearing that sentence, something snapped in Tatsumi. He let his anger control his body and soul. His eyes went dull. Suddenly his speed and strength increased. His strikes were more accurate than before. He managed to push the lieutenant back.  
The officer was surprised, but even more thrilled than before. He turned his head, looking at his men, who had already drawn their swords to help him.

``Stand back! This is my fight!´´  
The thrill for him was just too big to recognize the acute danger he was in.

The battle had reached its peak; the sound of clashing steel filled their environment. Orders were barked by Tatsumi´s enemy and screams of agony and pain mixed with the sounds of war. The bodies littered the ground were each covered with a thick layer of ice and snow.

Tatsumi pushed forward, sword in hand, and hacked at the lieutenant with murderous intent. He knew the general would sit back and watch, as she had done before. She enjoyed their fight way too much.

He knew only one could walk away from this fight; he feared it wouldn't be him. The outcome looked grim. He felt the fear of failing his friends and village. But more than that he felt the fear of failing his dead comrades and his own oath!  
A final strike; blood poured in a crimson fountain, dyeing both enemies in its colour.  
When Tatsumi fell to his knees, all he heard was silence.

Nobody dared to make a sound. They couldn´t believe what just has happened. The boy somehow managed to win the fight. He struck at his enemy with all his might, forcing him to block the youth´s sword over and over again. But this last slash of the boy was just inhuman. The force behind the strike was big enough to shatter the lieutenant´s sword in pieces, decapitating the surprised officer swiftly. His detached head still showed the last expression of the lieutenant´s eyes, widened in shock and realization. Everyone looked at the youth still kneeling in the snow.  
Tatsumi´s eyes had returned back to their normal colour. Still kneeling in the snow, he looked around. He couldn´t remember how he won the fight, but it didn´t matter. The decapitated body of the officer laid next to him in the snow, the head a few steps away. The body as well as Tatsumi himself were covered in the crimson colour of blood. The snow started to be dyed red, too.  
Normally, Tatsumi would have panicked at such a shocking sight, but right now everything was different. He was just happy he won the fight. He had survived and protected his friends. This time he wasn´t useless at all. He had kept his promise towards Sayo and Ieyasu.  
There was only one way to react for Tatsumi. He slowly turned his head towards Shin, who still looked at the boy with widened eyes.

``Thank you!´´  
Shin wasn´t able to say those words as properly as he should have, but he knew he had to show at least some kind of his gratitude.

``No problem!´´ Tatsumi answered putting on the brightest smile possible. If Shin or the others wouldn´t have had seen the fight, none of them would have believed that this innocent smiling boy was capable of such fighting.

 **Esdeath**

She still stared at the boy in disbelief. Her smile had vanished, her blue eyes widened. She felt something inside her, something she had never felt before. Her heart seemed to beat ten times faster than usual. She panted heavily, feeling more excited than before a good fight or even one of her torture sessions.

 _`What is this feeling? I´ve never had it before. I can´t avert my eyes from that boy´s face!´  
_ Looking at his bright and innocent smile made her heart beat even faster.  
The boy had just proved his potential towards her. She instantly knew he was able to match her one day. Thinking this, she forgot about everything around her. The only thing she had been aware of the whole time was him. For her, there was only one possible explanation for this.

 _`This must be the feeling they call `love´!´  
_ Thinking that, her heart seemed to stop for a moment; a slight blush appeared on her cheeks, confirming her assumption.

 _`He´ll be mine! I´ll make him mine and mine alone!´  
_ She still watched the boy, ignoring everyone around her.

Luke had watched the general for the last minutes. Everyone else was looking at the boy. He was the only one, noticing the general´s strange change in behaviour.  
 _`I don´t know what it is, but it seems that it´ll become quite interesting from now on.´_

 **Tatsumi**

He was still looking towards Shin, when he suddenly felt the impact of his exhaustion. The fight had cost him every last ounce of his strength. He tried not to close his eyes, but he didn´t even have enough remaining strength for that. When he fell over into the snow with his eyes closed, the last thing he heard was Shin screaming his name in panic. Then he passed out.

 **And here we go again; finally Chapter 2 is finished.  
Thanks to my loyal Betas for helping me to improve my writing.  
Special thanks to those of you who took some of their time and wrote reviews and questions; I hope you were satisfied with my answers ;)**

 **I´m nearly finished with writing Chapter 3. But I think I´ll need about 3 weeks to publish it, since I want to give my Betas enough time :)**  
 **Since the Double-chapter is now finished, Chapter 3 (and most likely Chapter 4) will focus on introducing some more main-characters as well as some necessary minor ones.**  
 **Therefore, it won´t contain that many fighting scenes but more dialogue. I promise it will get better during Chapter 4 or 5 ;)**

 **Like I said before: Feel free to write reviews or ask questions; I´ll try to react to them ASAP.**  
 **If you´ve got any ideas or requests for the story, feel free to write me. Even if I can´t promise to use them in my story, I´ll at least consider them or try to find a way to get them into my story.**

 **With those words I´m out for this time.**  
 **Enjoy reading, writing and imagine ;)**  
 **See you next time,**

 **Marcel M**


	3. Chapter 3: Kill the loneliness

****Welcome back to `A different destiny´. Hope you didn´t have to wait for too long :)****

 **Like last time, I´d like to answer a few questions and comments:**  
 **1) orca3553: Tatsumi won´t get Incursio but another Taigu (still a secret)**  
 **2) BluChili: I´m glad you liked the side characters. I intend to make them as well as the places described in the story as genuinely as possible. Besides, the Betas appreciated your thanks ;)**  
 **3) ThisGuyAgain: Thanks for your time. I tried to work based on your review. I hope I was able to make less grammar mistakes this time. I hope I was able to improve the flow of the story, too ;)**  
 **4) TheCarlosInferno: Thanks for your OC. As promised he ´ll be used ;)**

 **That being said, enjoy the story.**

DISCLAIMER:  
I DON´T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO THE "AKAME GA KILL"-FRANCHISE. THE MANGA WAS WRITTEN BY TAKAHIRO AND ILLUSTRATED BY TETSUYA TASHIRO.  
THIS FANFIC HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN FOR PROFIT!  
IT MAY CONTAINS SPOILER!  
IT´LL INCLUDE BRUTAL CONSIDERED SCENES! **  
**

 ** **Chapter 3: Kill the loneliness****

``We have to help him, Steve!´´  
Shin knelt in the snow next to an unconscious Tatsumi. He checked the youth´s body carefully, looking for any dangerous wounds. Finding only minor cuts, he turned his head towards Steve, who still stood in the same position as before the fight.  
Since then, nobody except Shin had moved an inch. Everyone still watched the scenery; the decapitated officer, the red colored snow and the unconscious boy who had achieved this.

``Steve!´´  
Shin became impatient. He wanted to bring Tatsumi to the camp as fast as possible.  
He didn´t know how the other soldiers, or much worse the general, would react to this incident. But he knew it´d be better to bring Tatsumi to a safer place than this, and right now _any_ place was safer than their position. But after the exhausting fight, he was too weak to carry the boy himself.  
He wasn´t sure whether somebody would fight to help Tatsumi, or if the soldiers would decide to avenge their lieutenant. But he thought it was unlikely that someone would help. Most of the good people in the reinforcements had died, the other recruits feared penalties, and he couldn´t find a reason for any soldier to help Tatsumi if necessary. In the worst case scenario, only he and Steve would be inclined to protect Tatsumi.

``Yes! You´re right!´´  
Hearing Shin shouting at him, Steve snapped out of his daze and stood right next to them now.  
He bent down and lifted the unconscious boy up in his arms. Then they both turned around and headed towards the camp as quickly as they could. But they could only make a few steps before three soldiers blocked their way with swords drawn. They were the dead officer´s men.

``Where do you think you´re going?´´  
One of the men glared at the two recruits and the unconscious boy with an expression of anger and hatred.  
``Do you really think we´d let you get away with that?!´´  
He pointed at the dead lieutenant with the tip of his sword.  
``You´re **_dead_ _wrong_**!´´

``If they attack, I´ll delay them as long as possible. You take Tatsumi and run! I owe him one.´´  
Shin had placed himself between the soldiers and Steve and Tatsumi, sword drawn. He felt that it was the least he could do for his saviour and friend.

``We´ll kill all of you!´´  
The soldiers pushed forward, ready to kill the friends. Shin knew instantly that they had no chance.

``STOP!´´  
A female voice could be heard right behind the soldiers, making everyone´s blood freeze instantly.  
The soldiers slowly turned their heads and recognized their general right behind them. Esdeath glared right at them with cold predatory eyes, causing them to shiver with their whole body. She knew they wouldn´t dare to make a move now. Without giving them another look she walked past them, heading towards the friends.

 _`From bad to worse. I don´t stand a chance against her.´  
_ Shin knew that every last spark of hope had died, but he wouldn´t abandon his friends.  
He´d fight even the general herself if necessary. Despite his fear, he didn´t lower his sword towards her. If he was going to die, at least he´d die fighting.  
Esdeath stopped right in front of them, her rapier still sheathed on her side.

``You!´´  
She´d turned her head in Steve´s direction, ignoring the old soldier right in front of her. She knew he was no threat at all.  
``Follow me! We´ll take that boy to my tent and get the medic afterwards. When we´re finished with that you´re to head back to the other recruits.´´  
She turned around looking at the rest of her soldiers with a slight smile.  
``The rest of you go and grab something to eat; I´m in a rather good mood today.´´  
Finishing her sentence, she turned around, indicating Steve to follow her. While they were heading away from the battleground, she turned her head one last time.  
``Oh, and before I forget it: The lieutenant was weak. He deserved his fate. If anyone lays a hand on the boy or any other recruit without my direct order, he´ll have the honor of facing me in person!´´

Even if she said those words in a casual tone, the men were frightened to death. Even the strongest soldiers beneath them felt a cold sweat on their necks. Nobody was eager to face her and her punishment.  
Without a sound of discontent, the lieutenant´s men sheathed their swords again and walked away as quickly as they could, leaving an irritated Shin behind.  
He didn´t know what in the world had happened, but he decided it´d be the best not to think about it and grab something to eat with the rest, leaving Tatsumi in the hands of Steve, the medic and the general.  
At that thought he swallowed nervously; but he knew, that if she´d wanted to harm Tatsumi, Steve or himself, she´d have done it by now!

 **In the meantime**

Steve didn´t feel safe at all. He followed behind the general by a few steps. He didn´t know why this woman was helping Tatsumi. When she walked towards them earlier, he´d thought that she was going to punish them for creating a commotion. He shivered at this thought.

``You´re nervous. You think I´ll do somthing to you.´´  
The general talked to him without looking back. She didn´t even try to hide her amusement.

``I´m sorry for the commotion earlier, Ma´am!´´  
Answering the general used up all of Steve´s courage.  
``But if you want to punish somebody, punish me and our other comrade. Tatsumi was just trying to calm the lieutenant down earlier and got drawn into a fight he didn´t want. We´ll take on all of his punishment!´´  
His blood froze at this thought. But he couldn´t stand seeing such a young boy being punished.

``Rest assured, nobody will be punished. The lieutenant was at fault; he was too weak without noticing it. He got what he deserved. Furthermore, if I´d wanted to punish you, I´d have done it in front of the other soldiers earlier. You have my word, that nobody will touch you or that boy without my permission.´´  
The general´s voice still sounded slightly amused. But Steve knew instantly that she meant her words.  
He continued to follow her until they reached a tent standing in the center of the camp.

With its green camouflage it looked like the other military tents and was only slightly bigger. No guards were positioned next to the entry like they would have been at any other general´s tent. When they entered, Steve noticed that the difference towards other tents was the interior. The general´s tent was provided with a desk and a slightly comfortable chair as well as a bed bigger and cosier than the soldiers´ folding cots. Besides that, there was no difference between this and any other tent.

``Place him on my bed. You´ll find the medic in the field hospital a few tents to the right. Tell him that I sent you to get him.´´  
The general turned towards Steve.  
``I´ll wait here. I have to look into an urgent matter.´´  
Steve did as he was told and placed the still unconscious Tatsumi on the bed, giving a quick salute and heading out of the tent.

Esdeath wasn´t concerned with Tatsumi dirtying her bed at all. Most of the blood was already frozen anyway. The thing she did want to know was whether she had made a mistake while looking through the files or not. She went to her desk, taking the pile of sheets in her one hand and her chair in the other, placing herself next to her bed; next to the boy. She blushed slightly, watching his rather cute sleeping-face. She went to the files again, checking if she missed something, but she couldn´t find anything concerning him. She let out a sigh, turning her attention back to the boy.

 _`Who are you? It seems like I´ll have to wait a bit longer to get some answers out of you.´  
_ Just as she finished her thought, Steve and the medic entered the tent, giving her the formal salute with their right hand forming a fist over their heart and their left arm bent in an angle of ninety degree behind their back. She quickly dismissed them and ordered the medic to check on Tatsumi and sent Steve back to the others.

``There are no deeper wounds, only a few small cuts. Those will heal completely within a few days. There won´t even be scars.´´  
The medic had checked Tatsumi for about ten minutes. He now turned to the general, briefing her on his diagnosis.  
``He must have used quite a large amount of his power. But one or two days of rest should do the job. There shouldn´t be any effects left after he wakes up.´´

The general nodded; just as she had thought. She accompanied the medic out of her tent, sending him back to his own, before she sat down next to the sleeping boy with a smile. She didn´t exactly know why, but she liked the idea of being alone with him now.

She looked at him for another minute before she decided it would be best to get some rest herself. After taking off her white military boots, that reached up to her thighs, and her white commander´s cap, she laid down next to the boy, letting her head rest on his shoulder while spooning him. She liked the scent of sweat and frozen blood the boy emitted right now. Somehow, it remembered her of her childhood days and the feeling she had after a thrilling fight. With a genuine smile and a slight blush, she dozed off in that position.

 **Sometime later**

 _Everything around him was black. He had walked around for some time now, but he didn´t know how long it was. He didn´t know why, but he felt that someone was watching him. No matter how far he would go, the feeling wouldn´t fade away. But every time he turned around, he couldn´t see anything in the darkness._

 _``Show yourself!´´  
Tatsumi couldn´t stand the feeling any longer. He had to find out who was watching him. _

_Right after he had roared into the darkness, he could hear a snicker from behind. He slowly turned his head. What he saw made him shiver in fear. A few steps away from him stood the `Ice-Queen´ with her skin as white as snow, wearing her uniform.  
In her white thigh-high boots and her white buttoned up general´s apparel with long black sleeves held in place by a black belt, decorated with a black cross, as well as her blue fur scarf reaching to her knees and the white commander´s cap, decorated with the same black cross as the belt, the blue-haired woman looked quite impressive.  
_ _Only the uppermost button of her uniform was opened up, revealing a black glowing mark right above her quite big cleavage, looking like a `Y´ with two slightly curved dashes; one on the left side and one on the right. Her long massy hair, reaching to her knees, looked neat and clean. Two of her blue bangs encircled her eyes, while a third one ended between them._

 _She stared at Tatsumi with her cold blue eyes that seemed like those of a predator._ _They reminded him of deadly arctic frost.  
_ _A long rapier attached to her side gave her a hint of danger even if she smiled.  
_ _If he hadn´t heard those terrible stories about her, Tatsumi wouldn´t have believed that this stunning beauty could be capable of gruesome torture and spreading despair._

 _With a sadistic grin, she walked towards him, pulling a black collar and a metal leash out of a hidden pocket of her jacket. Tatsumi tried to step back but his feet were frozen to the ground. He panicked as she came closer step by step, halting only two steps away from him._

 _``You´re mine!´´  
With those words she suddenly jumped at the boy, causing him to close his eyes in horror, waiting for the impact._

Tatsumi opened his eyes, cold sweat running down his forehead. He didn´t know why he´d dreamt such a dream, but he knew that he wouldn´t want to have it again. His right hand wandered towards his neck slowly. He knew he´d feel better if he ensured that it was only a dream.

His eyes widened in shock and disbelief. It couldn´t be! Right there around his neck was a collar held by a thin chain. His dream wasn´t just a dream.  
He realized only now that it was odd to wake up in a military tent after all that had happened. He´d have been less surprised to find himself in a cell or even a torture-chamber.  
His eyes wandered around in panic. It wasn´t even his tent, but a slightly larger one with a slightly bigger cot as well as a desk and a chair. He didn´t know what this place was and he had no intention to find it out.

Pulling at the chain, he slowly tried to get up, but to his surprise something or someone pulled back at the chain. He didn´t know why he hadn´t noticed her sooner, but next to him slept a slender woman taller than him, with skin as white as snow and hair, reminding him of cold winter days. He recognized her instantly. Cold sweat started running down again; his heart beat faster and he started to pant heavily. It was the Empire´s strongest and most sadistic general, holding the chain to his collar.

Tatsumi figured he had to get away as quickly as possible if he didn´t want her to notice his awakening. His only chance would be to pull the chain out of her hand without waking her.  
He slowly moved his hand towards her end of the chain, ready to take it for himself. But he had underestimated her senses. He had barely touched the chain, when a pair of cold blue eyes shot wide open, staring right into his own emerald-green eyes before analysing the situation.

The big smile forming on the general´s lips wasn´t to Tatsumi´s liking. He had to take his last chance to get away. He jumped out of the cot and ran towards the entrance of the tent, using as much of his speed and strength as possible. But he was no match for her physical strength. The general simply pulled him back towards her cot with a jerk, strangling Tatsumi with the collar through the massive force of the pull.

 _`Shit! I´m done for!´  
_ Trying to breathe again, Tatsumi recognized the gravity of the situation. He knew that he had missed his last chance to get away just now and was now dependent on the `Ice-Queen´s´ mercy. Everybody was aware of her lack of mercy.  
He was sure he´d have to endure lots of torture and pain for killing an officer. He´d have preferred the devil to punish him.  
After all the things his friends had told him about her on their journey, hell could be nothing more than a slightly rough training session compared to her torture. Tatsumi was sure that even the devil himself would tremble in fear before her and her methods.

``Where do you think you´re going?´´  
Tatsumi heard the cold and stern sounding voice of the blue-haired general lying on the cot next to him. Even though it was bursting with authority, he could swear he heard a hidden soft and gentle undertone. Was it just his imagination? Or much worse; was she trying to give him a false sense of safety before utterly breaking him? He hoped it was former.

He turned his head towards her, encountering her gaze with his own. He instantly noticed the aura of domination resonating in her glare. But again something was off. The more he glared into her sapphire-blue eyes, he could swear he recognized slight signs of curiosity and even joy in them.  
He couldn´t avert his gaze from her eyes, bathing in their depths. That was until she spoke again.

``One last chance to answer me. Where do you think you´re going, Tat~su~mi?´´  
Being used to getting an answer instantly, Esdeath had lost some of her patience with the boy, leading to her hissing the question a bit more harshly than she had originally planned. But she had waited long enough for her _prey_ to wake up and thus was driven by the desire to know more about her future mate.

``I-´´  
Tatsumi stopped. He didn´t know how to answer; should he try to lie his way out of this situation or would it be better to tell the truth? He figured it´d be best to go with the latter since he was sure she´d find it out anyway. And right now he didn´t want to provoke her in any way. He continued after a short sigh.  
``-tried to g-get out and sneak a-away as f-fast and silently as p-possible.´´  
Tatsumi started to shiver before he could continue; he knew he had to choose his words carefully, if he didn´t want to push his luck too far.  
``I thought I c-could avoid p-punishment.´´

``I won´t allow you to leave without my permission. Besides, if I wanted to punish you, I´d have already done it. The officer you killed didn´t deserve anything better. I believe in the survival of the fittest: The weak die and the strong live. The strong are the ones who decide everything. And he was simply too weak, while you were strong.´´  
Esdeath still glared at the boy with her stern expression. But in comparison to before, it already had softened a bit.

Tatsumi took a deep breath. Hearing that he wouldn´t be punished, he felt delighted now. Nonetheless, he´d apologize for his actions and ask for his permission to leave. If he had interpreted her statements correctly, in the worst case he´d have to endure her reprimand before being allowed to leave. At least that would explain the collar in some twisted way; he couldn´t get away without her clarifying the former events.

``Soooo, am I allowed to leave then?´´  
Tatsumi asked with newly found confidence, but still a bit cautious. He already knew he´d need to search for Shin and Steve and talk about what had happened since he´d fallen unconscious. He hoped that this threatening encounter would end now.

``No, Tatsumi!´´  
Tatsumi´s hopes and plans were shattered when the general´s answer came without hesitation. He knew it wouldn´t be wise to let her notice and so he tried to pull himself together again.  
Thinking about his current situation, his eyes suddenly shot wide open. Since he feared what would happen at the beginning of their conversation, he hadn´t paid attention to it. But thinking back now, he noticed that something was off when she addressed him before. Tatsumi stood there, unable to move in his shock.

``How do you know my name?!´´  
He muttered the question only loud enough for Esdeath to hear. His entire body shivered, while panic rose in Tatsumi again. His breaths became shorter and deeper, causing him to hyperventilate. He felt like he couldn´t get enough oxygen with the collar around his neck anymore. He desperately tried to get it off, but he wasn´t strong enough. His vision fainted; he was sure he´d pass out again.

Noticing Tatsumi´s sudden struggle for oxygen, Esdeath´s expression turned into one riddled with fear. An emotion she had only felt once, many years ago. She leapt to his position, fearing for the younger boy´s life, grabbed the collar with her hands and broke it in half.  
Being freed from the collar, Tatsumi finally managed to take deep breaths again without the feeling of density around his throat. Nonetheless, he had no time to calm down, as his counterpart embraced him in a tight hug, causing the young boy to blush heavily and increasing his breathing rhythm some more.

``Everything´s ok. No need to panic.´´  
Esdeath figured she had to calm down the boy. She had already waited for him to wake up for about two days. She couldn´t stand to see him pass out again; at least not before he answered her questions. She stroked his back slightly until she sensed that he had calmed down after some minutes.

Tatsumi was still shocked by the turn of events. The beautiful looking general, said to be a devil in human form, held him in an embrace for some time now, just to help him cool down. Even if he had accomplished that in the meanwhile, he still couldn´t think straight; everything the others had told him about this woman seemed like it couldn´t be true right now. Nonetheless, he knew that every rumor had a bit of truth in it. He had to know more about what was going on, that he knew for sure.

``How do you know my name?´´  
Tatsumi still hadn´t gotten an answer to his question before. He just prayed that she hadn´t done anything to his friends.

``The friend of yours who carried you while you were unconscious mentioned it, when he begged me to spare you from any form of punishment,´´ answered Esdeath while loosening the embrace slowly until she stood an arm-length in front of him, only touching his shoulders.  
She couldn´t avoid sounding slightly amused.

``What happened to them?´´  
Tatsumi didn´t know how he was supposed to judge her slight amusement. Had she tortured his friends for their insubordination?  
 _  
`I hope you two are safe!´  
_ Waiting for her answer he looked directly into her eyes.

``They should both be fine. Nobody with some brains left would dare touch them, since they´re under my protection.´´  
Hearing Esdeath´s answer, Tatsumi sighed in relief, causing most of remaining tension to disappear.

``Thank you, ma´am.´´  
At least Tatsumi hadn´t to worry about them for now. Her protection meant they were save for sure.  
``But I´d still like to know why I can´t leave. I´d like to find my friends and say my thanks and ease their worries.´´

``You won´t go alone.´´  
Esdeath´s voice hardened for a few seconds before her soft tone returned.  
``You were out for quite some time and there are things I want to know from you. Also, the two of us have a few things to discuss. One of my officers will accompany you to your tent; you should reassure your friends. You´re to come back in an hour from now.´´  
Even if her voice sounded soft again, Tatsumi knew that the last part was an order he´d better not ignore.

``Yes, ma´am.´´  
Tatsumi gave a quick salute to the general before turning around and heading towards the exit of her tent.

``Oh, and Tatsumi-´´  
Her sweet sounding voice stopped him right before he could leave. He turned his head in her direction to look at her.  
``-you don´t have to address me so formally. Esdeath is sufficient.´´

``Yes... Esdeath.´´  
He couldn´t hide the confusion in his voice. It was a strange way to address a superior. But if that was her wish, he wouldn´t mind.  
He turned his head back towards the exit and left, missing the blush forming on Esdeath´s cheeks.

 _`Better hurry, darling. I can´t wait to learn more about you.´  
_ With a sigh, Esdeath turned around and went towards her desk to finish some of the paperwork being part of her duty as general.  
But the only thing she could think about was Tatsumi.

 **Luke - Esdeath´s vice-commander**

 _`I can´t believe it. So this boy was the one to capture the general´s heart and I´m ordered to play his babysitter.´  
_ He couldn´t help but chuckle at that thought.  
Before the events of the last days, Luke was sure that there wasn´t a single person that could possibly fit Esdeath´s criteria. And if he was true to himself, he didn´t think that the boy met all of them either.

It was true that he had beaten a lieutenant in a duel, but in Luke´s eyes that was the result of the boy´s luck and the lieutenant´s incapability to take an enemy who was pushed into a corner seriously.  
He spoke about this with some of the soldiers in secret, since he didn´t want to upset the general with his doubts. Most of them thought the same.  
But he had to admit that there was a possibility that the general noticed something about the boy that nobody else did.

 _`Ahh, damn. Screw it! It shouldn´t be of my concern. No matter what I think about this, the general has already decided. Can´t change anything about it. Let´s just see, how far the boy will get. Eventually-´  
_ His thoughts were disrupted when he noticed the boy snapping his fingers near to Luke´s face.  
``What the-?!´´

``Sorry `bout that. But when I tried speaking to you, you wouldn´t react.´´  
The boy looked at Luke with an unsure expression. He seemed to think that he might have gone too far.

``No problem. I sometimes tend to digress, if I´m thinking too much.´´  
Luke hadn´t noticed the boy speaking before.  
``What did you want to know?´´

``I´d like to know what´s going on. I still can´t get a grip of the situation I´m in. You seem to be one of the commanding officers, so I thought you could tell me something. By the way, I´m Tatsumi.´´  
Reaching out for a short shake hands, the boy looked right at Luke with a grin.

 _`No other soldier would have dared to speak that informally to me! I think I´m starting to like this boy; he sure has some guts.´  
_ Luke couldn´t hide his amusement. Returning the boy´s grin grin he took the hand.  
``I´m Luke. Nice to get to know you Tatsumi. You´re right with your assumption; I´m General Esdeath´s vice-commander. But concerning your situation, I´ll have to disappoint you. I´m not quite sure about that myself.´´

``Damn. And I thought I could get some answers.´´  
Luke could see Tatsumi´s disappointment.

``Your friends probably know something. If I´m not wrong this should be their tent.´´  
He pointed to a tent a few meters in front of Tatsumi.  
``I´ll wait here for you. We´ll head back to the general´s tent in about ten minutes.´´

``Understood. Then I should better hurry. Wouldn´t want to anger the `Ice-Queen´ by disobeying her orders. Can´t afford myself to die now.´´  
With those words the boy started heading towards his friends, leaving a grinning Luke behind.

 **Inside the tent**

``Hey there! Missed me?´´  
Shin and Steve winced visibly as they heard the voice of a well-known friend of theirs.  
The moment Tatsumi entered their tent, they were both focused on maintaining their swords. Neither of the two had noticed the youth as he entered. Thus, they got a slight shock when he called out to them.

``Tatsumi! Are you feeling better now?´´  
Steve was the first one to regain his composure. He gave Tatsumi a big smile, visibly happy that the boy was fine.

``You didn´t have to worry ´bout me,´´ responded Tatsumi with a grin.  
``But since you had time to worry about me that means you had no reason to worry about yourselves at least.´´

``True.´´  
Finally, it was Shin´s turn to speak.  
``And that we´re fine is your accomplishment. I couldn´t thank you properly back then. Therefore, I want to apologize.´´  
Shin turned his head and looked right into Tatsumi´s eyes, tears forming in the corners of his own. Slowly, the old soldier rose from his cot and knelt right in front of Tatsumi, his forehead touching the ground.  
``Thank you, Tatsumi! Not only did you save my life, but also the future of my daughter and her child. Without you, I´d have died a meaningless death and my family wouldn´t have anyone left to care for them. God knows what my daughter would have been forced to do.´´  
Shin couldn´t help but sob. He couldn´t remember ever feeling more grateful to a single person.

Tatsumi was moved. Back then, he had just wanted to keep his own promise. He hadn´t thought about the circumstances of his friend. But recalling the situation now, he was even more glad that he stepped in right in time.

``You don´t have to thank me.´´  
Tatsumi bent down, took Shin´s right hand and pulled him up.  
``And you don´t have to kneel in front of me. If I´d have been in your stead, you´d have done the same for me, I guess.´´  
He smiled at Shin who started to calm down again.  
``So what happened while I was out cold?´´  
Tatsumi turned his head toward Steve and looked at him with curious eyes.

``Nothing. I don´t know why, but after your fight with the lieutenant the general ordered us to be ready for heading out anytime. But until now, we didn´t get the order.´´  
Steve´s answer surprised Tatsumi visibly. He thought that the matter concerning the Northerners would have been solved already.

``That´s str-´´  
Tatsumi couldn´t finish his sentence as Luke entered the tent.

``Sorry to disturb you, but time´s up and you´d better not make the general angry.´´  
Luke looked right at Tatsumi.

``You´re right.´´  
Tatsumi let out a sigh. He quickly went to his stuff and changed into a spare uniform. He had to get out of the old one since it still was covered with frozen blood and cuts all over. He couldn´t stand looking like this any longer.

``Sorry guys, but the General still has some questions for me and I´d better not make her wait for me. I´d like to avoid enraging her,´´ said Tatsumi while finishing changing.  
The three men looked at Tatsumi, sweating like crazy. They definitley could understand the boy´s worry.  
``What´s going on? Are you feeling bad?´´

``Your statement just now! It´s right on the spot!´´  
Luke had to restrain himself from stuttering in order to answer in a tone that didn´t seem too frightened.

``What statement?´´  
Tatsumi felt pretty irritated. Had he said something wrong?

``It doesn´t matter. We should go.´´  
Luke answered still shivering a bit.

``Alright.´´  
Tatsumi and Luke turned around.

``I think I´ll be back in about an hour or so.´´  
With that they left the tent, leaving his still frightened friends behind.

 **15 minutes later**

During their walk towards the general´s tent Tatsumi was told that the army would move towards the Northerners´ capital Winterberg the next morning. The general had decided that it´d be best to wait until the commotion of the events that occurred after the enemy´s ambush died down.

``At least, that´s what she told us,´´ Luke finished, shooting a look of amusement towards Tatsumi.

``What´s with that smirk?´´  
Tatsumi didn´t quite understand Luke. The officer seemed to know something about Tatsumi that he didn´t know himself.

``Beats me. This is the face I was born with.´´  
Luke instantly averted his gaze. He couldn´t afford to let Tatsumi know about the rumors concerning him and Esdeath. God knew how the general would react to them. He suppressed a shiver.  
Tatsumi wanted to press the matter further, but they had already arrived at their destination.  
So he bid farewell for now and entered Esdeath´s tent.

Esdeath was sitting at her desk, a small notebook in front of her. Noticing Tatsumi´s entrance, she closed it quickly and turned towards him.

``Recruit Tatsumi is reporting in, Gen-´´  
Noticing her cold and frightening look towards him he instantly stopped the formal greeting, suddenly remembering her parting words.  
``I´m back Esdeath?´´  
This time the greeting sounded more like a question than anything else.

``Better´´  
Her look softened instantly.  
``And remember: You won´t act formal around me anymore. That´s an order! Otherwise I´ll have to punish you.´´  
A wide grin showed on her face, exposing her flawless white teeth.

``Ok.´´  
Tatsumi startled.  
The grin didn´t seem threatening at all but he couldn´t quite determine its nature. He imagined it to look somehow perverted, but tossed that idea as fast as it came to his mind. It simply couldn´t be.  
``So what did you want to ask ?´´

``I checked all of the recruits´ files twice but couldn´t find anything about you. Who are you Tatsumi? How did you get into this group of recruits?´´  
She curiously stared at him. That was what she had wanted to ask him since she´d layed her eyes on him.

``Ahh. Ok. Since I signed up right before the convoy left, I assume they didn´t get the chance to send my file the proper way. I´m from a small village in the North...´´  
He told the general everything she needed to know, while she paid full attention to his story. He told her that he had never gotten to know his parents and was instead raised by the chief and his family; he explained the circumstances of his village and how a former soldier taught him to fight; about his friends and their journey, as well as their encounter with the bandits; he told her about his first time in the Capital and his recruitment and finished with his way to the Northern border.  
``... And that´s how I ended up here.´´

``That explains everything.´´  
Satisfied, Esdeath leaned back in her chair.

``If that was everything, I´d like to return to my tent now.´´  
Tatsumi yawned.  
``The day was quite exhausting and I still need some sleep.´´

Esdeath´s eyes hardened for less than a second before she burst into laughter.  
``But you´re already in your tent!´´

``Ahhmmmm...´´  
Tatsumi was completely confused. What was that supposed to mean?

``I already ordered some of my men to go and grab your stuff. After all, I´ve decided to make you my lover!´´  
While stating this, Esdeath´s pale cheeks took a rosy touch. Finally, she had stated her feelings.

Tatsumi´s mind went blank. He didn´t know what to think. Was this a huge prank that she was playing on him or was she actually serious?

``You´re strong Tatsumi,´´ continued Esdeath.  
``You hold the potential to become as strong as me one day. You´ll be able to fight with me on equal ground. Until then, I´ll train you myself. You´ll be part of my `Three beasts´ when they return from their actual mission. I´ll be yours and you´ll be mine; my equal, my lover, my mate.´´  
The further she spoke, the more she blushed. Just thinking about their future made her heart beat faster than ever before.

Tatsumi on the other hand stood completely still. He couldn´t comprehend what she had just said to him.  
She wanted **_him_** to be **_her_ _lover_**? A beautiful and strong woman as her was interested in **_him_**? How could that possibly be true? He just couldn´t manage to think straight.  
He snapped out of it when Esdeath grabbed his left hand and pulled him towards the cot, putting him on his back.

``Since you´re tired, let´s just sleep for today. Tomorrow we´ll crush the Northerners. I put the attack on hold until you´d wake up after all!´´  
With those words Esdeath turned Tatsumi on his right side, lying down on the cot behind him and spooning the smaller boy, holding him in a tight grip with their legs intertwined. Her left hand was stroking his chest, her right caressing the top of his head that was placed right under her chin.

Tatsumi still wanted to clarify this situation, but he suddenly felt so tired; and this position felt so … comfortable. He yawned again, nesting the back of his head closer to her bosom, while resting the side of his face on her right arm. Her steady heart-beat and her warm breath on his head helped him calm down completely.

 _`Those things will … have to … wait un … til to … mor … row.´  
_ Tatsumi was barely able to finish his thought before his eyes closed and he paid a visit to the land of dreams.

 **Sadly, that concludes chapter 3.**

 **Thanks again for reading the story and posting your reviews, opinions and questions. I took my time and reacted to all of them as always.**

 **My biggest gratitude is with my friends and Betas who tried to help me find mistakes and improve the story line. Keep up your good work and be patient with me ;)**

 **As I mentioned last time, chapter 3 was important for the storyline. I hope it wasn´t too boring.**  
 **Chapter 4 is already with my Beta. I think I´ll upload it within 2 weeks.**  
 **It will be the peak of my first arc (`The cold North´). It´s the longest and most exciting chapter so far with about 7.000 words, so look forward to it ;)**  
 **I started chapter 5 today. But since my exams draw near, I´ll have less time for writing. I´ll try publishing it until mid of August (in worst case).**

 **Feel free to ask questions and tell me your opinions. Feel free to review.**  
 **Like I said above, I got my first OC-request. We worked together, creating an interesting character with some interesting and new Taigu. Thanks to TheCarlosInferno for that.**  
 **Feel free to send in your (OC-)requests, too.**

 **Enjoy the site and spread the feelings :)**  
 **I´m out for this time.**

 **Marcel M.**

 **P.S.: I´m male xD (didn´t feel offended by that review, just couldn´t stop laughing ;))**


	4. Chapter 4: Kill the warrior

**Welcome back again :)**

 **First of all - To my American readers:**  
 **I want to sincerely apologize. I originally planned to release my chapter on the 4th of July as a small present for Independence Day.**  
 **Since something urgent came up, I was rendered unable to do so; thank god that I´m not that far off the date ;)**  
 **Nonetheless, I hope you had a nice Independence Day alltogether. (Your country saved mine in more than one way after all ;))**

 **Now to the comment segment as always:  
1) orca3553: Nice thesis about the Taigu. I´ll simply say that his Taigu will be influenced in a special way. Therefore, it won´t exactly fit to those types :)  
2) ChaosOmega8: I´m glad you like it and appreciate the thanks. I´ll definitely end this story one day in the far away future (right now I assume over 50 possible chapters) ;)  
3) Man of Steel: I try to update at least once a month.  
4) Callac: You´ll have to deal with that slow pace of mine for only one more month. I won´t have to go to University from August ´til October. I´ll try to increase my pace during those 2 months ;)  
5) Roman: ´Naturally, I´ll put in some fluff. To your second question: The Taigu won´t be nearly as powerful as Esdeath´s. Furthermore, I plan to make it the weakest in my universe (at least everybody thinks that). That doesn´t mean don´t have some special ideas in mind ;). If you read Chapter 5 carefully, you could spot some of the seeds I sow concerning my plans :)  
6) Chosen-One-92: Thanks for the review; I took a lot out of it. If I´m able to take the time, I´ll update the chapters one after another and work o the minor problems. Hopefully, I´ll get to that next month.  
7) crow woyzeck: Thanks for the OC; we´ll see it soon ;)**

 **That concludes that.**

 **Lastly, I´d like to tell you that I updated my profile. If you want to know more about me, feel free to check it out.**  
 **Since I´m German I have no problem understanding the exact means of some German expressions used in Japanese anime; feel free to ask if you don´t know what something means. I´d be glad to be of help.**  
 **Additionally to that I´ll take my time and give advice if someone doesn´t know what anime he should watch next ;)**  
 **Since it´s a big hobby of mine, I watched quite a decent amount of shows. Feel free to contact me via PM.**

 **Now let´s enjoy the chapter ;)**

DISCLAIMER:  
I DON´T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO THE "AKAME GA KILL"-FRANCHISE. THE MANGA WAS WRITTEN BY TAKAHIRO AND ILLUSTRATED BY TETSUYA TASHIRO.  
THIS FANFIC HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN FOR PROFIT!  
IT MAY CONTAINS SPOILER!  
IT´LL INCLUDE BRUTAL CONSIDERED SCENES!

 **Chapter 4: Kill the Warrior**

Tatsumi could feel a slightly soft sensation on his cheek that gave him goosebumps. He´d never felt a sensation like this before. Awakening from his sleep, he slowly opened his eyes only to stare at a slightly bent over Esdeath, standing at the side of the cot, looking at him with a strong blush on her cheeks.

``Good morning, Tat~su~mi.´´  
Her voice had taken a sweet and gentle tone.

``I thought about waking you up earlier, but you looked just too cute in your sleep.´´  
Now it was Tatsumi´s turn to blush.

``But since the soldiers already started to head North on my orders, it´s time to get up now. I assume you liked your good morning kiss?´´  
While Esdeath´s blush just increased slightly, Tatsumi´s face turned a deep shade of red. Never before had a woman, not to mention one as beautiful as her, kissed him; not even on his cheeks.

That reaction of her beloved made Esdeath giggle. She stood up.  
``Even if I´d prefer to cuddle a bit more with you darling, it´s time to stand up now. We have quite a few tasks to fulfill today.´´

``So it wasn´t a joke. You really meant that you´d taken a liking to me?´´  
Tatsumi couldn´t hide his nervousness as he sat up on the cot. It was a miracle he could speak without stuttering.  
He got his answer as Esdeath bent down again and kissed the surprised boy right on his lips.  
It was a gentle, yet affectionate kiss that made the youth´s face change to the deepest shades of red imaginable again. It only lasted for a few seconds before she pulled back again, smiling at the still highly embarrassed boy.

``Convinced now?´´  
Esdeath looked right into his eyes, causing him to avert his gaze at her in embarrassment. She couldn´t help but chuckle at his reaction.  
``Seems so. Get ready now, we have to go.´´

``B-But w-why?´´  
Tatsumi had to know the answer. What had he done that had attracted her towards him?

``Even if I´d like to answer all of your questions, I can´t do so right now,´´ Esdeath answered while walking towards her desk, where her cap laid.  
``That will have to wait until our business is finished,´´ she said while putting it on top of her head.  
``I promise to answer your questions this evening. I have to speak with my officers now, get outside when you´re ready; I´ll send someone to pick you up.´´  
With those words she finally left, leaving an unsatisfied Tatsumi behind.

 **Five minutes later**

Tatsumi hadn´t needed to do much. He´d just adjusted the uniform he´d slept in and took his sword afterwards. After he´d strapped it across his back, he´d went outside.  
To his surprise, Luke had been standing outside the tent, waiting for him with two readied horses. One a big and muscular black stallion, while the other a slender white one. Since it seemed to be much lighter than the black one, Tatsumi assumed that the white stallion was faster than his counterpart. It seemed less aggressive too since the black stallion tried to pull its head out of its reins more than once, while the white one stood there completely calm. The black stallion only stopped resisting after Luke stared right into its eyes with a hard glance, making the stallion lower its head in submission.

``I thought the officers had a meeting with Esdeath?´´  
Tatsumi turned his gaze to Luke, noticing the man´s mischievous grin.

``So we aren´t addressing the general formally anymore?´´  
Luke´s grin widened.  
``You know that requires punishment, don´t you?´´

``I´m only following orders.´´  
Tatsumi shrugged.  
``Besides: Being with an overly possessive general that sends her vice-commander to observe your every move should be punishment enough!´´  
He couldn´t help but sigh.

``Take my statement back; I have to admit you´re right.´´  
Luke chuckled.  
``So get on now lover-boy; we´re leaving. We´ll meet up with the general near Winterberg.´´  
At those words Luke mounted his black stallion, while Tatsumi took the white one, starting to pass by the soldiers moving towards their battleground.

 **About an hour later**

They had ridden in a slow but steady pace, slowly moving towards the head of the army.  
Both had figured that it´d be best to get to know each other since they´d probably have to deal with each other more often from now on. Therefore, Tatsumi had told Luke a bit about his past in his village, as well as the circumstances leading him to end up in this situation.  
Luke had to admit that the boy was quite impressive. Being able to deal with that much was quite a sign of mental and physical strength. He could understand what the general saw in this boy now. Even after all that, there was quite a lot of potential for the youth to improve.  
In turn for telling about his own life, Tatsumi had the vice-commander speak about his past.  
He found out that Luke had originally been a leader of a small Southern tribe allied with the Ban-tribe.

``The Ban-tribe? Wasn´t that tribe obliterated by the Empire?!´´  
Tatsumi couldn´t hide being surprised.

``It was obliterated by General Esdeath, to be precise.´´  
Luke saw Tatsumi´s eyes widen in disbelief, while latter´s jaw dropped to the ground. The youth couldn´t believe how someone could voluntarily follow the person who had obliterated his people.  
A sad expression formed on the vice-commander´s face while he continued to speak, recalling memories of his long gone past.

``I led a small tribe consisting of merely twenty families besides my own. I lived with my father and my sixteen year-old son; my wife had died while giving birth. I was thirty-five at the time.´´  
Thinking of those good times, Luke´s expression lifted for a few seconds before the sad one returned.  
``It happened about five years ago. We were a tribe of hunters; every male and even some of the women went to hunt. It was right after the Ban-tribe had invaded a part of the Empire when we were out on hunt altogether, leaving only the children, the elders and some of the women in our small camp. My son was our youngest hunter, my father, being sixty-five, the oldest. When we came back from our hunt, we found all the people dead; slaughtered by the Empire as retribution for the Ban-tribe´s assault. Seeking revenge, we allied with that tribe. But that was a mistake.´´  
His gaze hardened. A growl escaped from his throat.  
``We fought together with a small group of Ban-warriors, consisting of merely one-hundred of them and forty of us. We were often victorious against the small groups of soldiers assigned to deal with us. One day, we waited to assault the next group that would pass our path, but when they came, they had the triple the number of soldiers as before. They looted the woods and deprived us of our advantage. My people were surrounded, but instead of helping us, the Ban-chief ordered retreat, leading to my family´s slaughter and the death of the other hunters. I was the only survivor.´´  
Remembering those events, the anger grew inside of Luke. His fists tightened around the reins.  
``I escaped and found the small camp of the Ban-warriors. They were happy to be with their beloved ones again, but I had nothing left. I lost myself in anger and entered their camp, killing everyone in sight. Some were gutted, some impaled, some decapitated. They couldn´t stop me. I didn´t only kill their warriors, but their elders, women and children as well.´´  
His expression changed again to one of pity and regret.  
``I only realized what I´d done after I´d finished. I despised myself for it, even more because I knew the members of my tribe wouldn´t have wanted me to do it. Shortly after the Empire´s army, led by the newly appointed, seventeen year-old general, crossed the camp. I knew death was certain; I even longed for it. So I threw away my sword and waited for them.´´  
He stopped talking, remembering the day as if it was yesterday.

``W-what happened afterwards?´´  
Tatsumi didn´t intend to open up old wounds, but he had to hear what happened.

``The general herself went up to me. She bent down and asked whether or not that cruel work was mine and I nodded in response. She shot me a warm smile and offered me to join her since I had proven to be strong. I declined, saying I had nothing worth living for. She smiled at me again and said that she would be the one thing I should live for; the one person I should see as my new family. She gave me the chance to choose between death and fighting for her. She told me that she was the last of her clan too, and that I should live so it wouldn´t be obliterated. With that, she had convinced me and I joined her. Following her orders and being utterly loyal, I climbed in the ranks of her army; and here I am.´´  
Luke smiled at Tatsumi. But all the grief and rage in his expression were gone and replaced by pride and gratitude.  
Tatsumi didn´t know what to answer. He didn´t even know what to think about it all. He just knew that in comparison to Luke´s past life, his own seemed to be an easy one.

But before he could think of anything to say, they had reached their destination: Winterberg.

 **Assembly point**

She´d have preferred to accompany Tatsumi to the enemy´s capital herself, but during the meeting, one of her officers had told her that they were unable to find a weakness in the enemy´s defence. Thus, she was forced to head out instantly, leaving her vice-commander behind to get Tatsumi.  
She´d deal with the scouts´ punishment herself. Their failure had reduced her daily Tatsumi-time after all.

Since she had ridden as quickly as possible without harming her horse, she had already been near Winterberg for an hour, when Tatsumi and Luke arrived. Spotting her beloved one with the corner of her eye, her mood brightened instantly. She turned around on her heels and leapt towards Tatsumi who had just dismounted his horse. Before he could react in any way, she pulled him into a close embrace, ignoring the surprised faces of her soldiers and Luke´s mischievous grin as well as Tatsumi´s reddening face.

``I´m glad you´ve arrived.´´  
Esdeath didn´t hold back the joy in her voice. Its soft sound seemed to embarrass Tatsumi even more, since his face reddened much more than before. But she didn´t care about that, since she couldn´t even understand why her lover would be embarrassed by such a trivial thing as an embrace in the first place.  
Even if that was a form of weakness in her eyes, she´d let it slip, especially since she loved this cute reaction of his.

``I´d have liked to ride to the front with you in person. But it was necessary that I headed out as quickly as possible since I had to do the work my scouts should have done. But don´t worry about that; they´ll be punished for their failure and for the fact that they caused us to be separated longer than necessary.´´  
Her voice hardened a bit on that last part, but her smile stayed the same.

Tatsumi´s eyes widened. Did she just say, she´d punish her scouts for hindering her ability to spend time with him? He took a deep breath and calmed down again. He must have misheard things. Nobody would punish subordinates for something like that.

Even though she would have liked to stay in the embrace a bit longer, Esdeath finally let go of Tatsumi. She noticed that her soldiers had gathered. She ´d have liked to see more of Tatsumi´s strength, but he couldn´t possibly be completely fine by now. He should rest, even if it was contrary to her beliefs. But Tatsumi was far more important to her than that. Since she didn´t want her beloved to fight, it was time to start the _**show**_ for Tatsumi. She wanted to make him realize the strength of her army since she wanted to impress him. He should recognize what she had accomplished during her five years as general. She had formed a nearly perfect and unbeatable army after all.

``Are you ready?!´´  
While shouting at them, she made a step towards her soldiers, standing in line.

``YES!´´  
Her soldiers responded in a deafening noise.

``Alright, show them true strength! Spill sweat and blood! Fight for our Emperor and the glory of our Empire! Crush them!´´  
Esdeath rose both arms into the air, her face turning towards the sky.  
``Feel free to take whatever you´d like from those weaklings!´´  
Her head turned back towards her army as she took her arms down again and swung her right one in the direction of Winterberg.  
``ATTACK!´´

With a loud battle-cry, the first lines of soldiers, about a thousand in number, started running towards the enemy´s capital, ready to crush every last of them. The rest of the army stayed back, as well as Tatsumi, Esdeath and Luke, who was still holding the reins of the two stallions. From there they would watch her soldiers crush the Northerners rebellion. At least that was what Esdeath thought.

 **Tatsumi**

He watched in awe as the first line of soldiers passed by and stormed towards the enemy´s capital.  
Winterberg was in fact a large fortress protected by meter-thick walls of ice. The whole city wasn´t bigger than the area of the Imperial palace back in the Capital, but its defense seemed to be much tighter. The walls were at least one-hundred meters high and completely made of ice. On top of the walls stood soldiers behind battlements, ready to defend their capital against the Empire´s army.  
The only gate leading into the fortress was closed up from the outside with tons of snow, already frozen solid due to the temperature of at least twenty degree less zero ( **Author´s note:** I used Celsius as unit of measurement; in **_Fahrenheit_** it´s **_four degree less zero_** ). The enemy seemed to have prepared for their arrival during the last few days. Right now, it seemed to have lasted for eternity.

 _`How in the world could someone possibly break through that defense?´  
_ Tatsumi couldn´t believe that Esdeath had sent her soldiers towards that monstrosity of a fortress. He was sure they´d die before they could even crack the ice.  
His thoughts were suddenly disrupted when the earth started to shake. Tatsumi could have sworn that he heard the sound of thunder every time the earth quaked.  
As the `thunder´ from behind him became louder and the quake stronger, he slowly turned his head.  
What he saw made his jaw drop to the ground. A giant of a man ran past him, ignoring the youth completely. His steps echoed like thunder and made the earth tremble under his feet, as he headed right towards the ice-wall meant for protection.

``His name is Kaiju.´´  
Tatsumi turned his head towards Luke who seemed to have followed his gaze before.  
``Nobody knows how he grew that big. He´s about 7.5 meters tall and has the muscles and strength to decapitate a horse with his bare hands. He´s a force of nature.´´

Tatsumi´s head turned back towards the giant, still watching him in awe as he passed the lines of soldiers heading to the front, running straight towards the wall.  
His enhanced armor caused the bullets shot by the defending soldiers to bounce as if they were nothing more than pebbles thrown at him. Arrows hitting him burst as they made contact without doing him harm. He stormed straight towards a point in the wall without slowing down or changing direction once, causing the defenders to gather above the estimated point of the wall he´d hit, determined to stop him at any cost.  
The moment they had gathered however was the moment Kaiju stopped. Standing still about a hundred meters in front of the wall he turned his gigantic head and looked back at Esdeath over his shoulder.  
Following the man´s gaze, Tatsumi noticed Esdeath looking at him with a wide grin.

``Watch!´´  
Her voice was soft and commanding at the same time. She stretched her arms towards the point the enemy soldiers had gathered on the wall.  
`` _ **Hagelsprung**_ ( **Authors Note:** Hail Pounce) _ **!**_ ´´

Tatsumi´s eyes widened again as a giant ball, at least ten meters in diameter and made completely of ice, formed out of nowhere and crashed into the wall, shattering it to pieces and killing the defending soldiers.  
He could see Esdeath´s grin become even bigger as his jaw hit the ground again.  
Taking the destruction of the wall as a sign to commence their attack, the next lines started to move towards Winterberg, following the first ones already entering the city.  
Tatsumi noticed the giant staying behind, ready to protect the following lines from possible long-range attacks against them.  
Thanks to the hole in the wall, Tatsumi was now able to watch the fighting. But what caught his attention weren´t the Empire´s soldiers but a single man cutting through them with his spear, while running towards the hole in the wall.

 _`That has to be Numa Seika, the `Hero of the North´, who is said to never have lost a duel before.´_  
With that in mind, Tatsumi watched the man´s swift movements with awe.

Seika wore silver metal boots that reached his knees, with durable black trousers tucked into them. His hips were covered by metal plates, bound by a purple belt that also had the function to hold a white piece of cloth in form that served as a skirt with an opening on its front side, granting better movement. Hidden under his quite big metal chest-plate with added shoulder-protectors standing out to the side, was a black top with long sleeves. Silver metal-gauntlets and a white cape with purple lining completed his armor.  
His weapon, a Shingu, was a long spear with a black shaft. The spearhead extended about twenty centimeters from the shaft and had a razor-sharp side, reminding Tatsumi of the edge of a helberd. It was visibly longer than the spearhead. It went along the shaft on one side for about ten more centimeters before it ended.  
His long black hair covered the silver crown he was wearing on all sides except the front.  
The Northerners´ cross marked the crown as well as the belt, his armor and the spear.

Tatsumi´s gaze slowly went along the direction Numa Seika went until he spotted something that sent a shiver down his spine and made his blood freeze in his veins.  
Right between the Northerners´ prince and the wall his two friends were fighting. He instantly knew they wouldn´t stand a chance against this exceptional warrior. He´d just kill them like all the previous Imperials.

In a split-second, Tatsumi made his decision. He looked at Esdeath to make sure she wasn´t looking at him, but even so, he knew he had to distract her for at least a few seconds. There was only one option left; a trick his old mentor had taught him a few years ago in his village. He closed the distance behind her and tapped her on the shoulder, saying her name.  
As the slightly surprised general turned her head around, he threw his arms around her neck and kissed her passionately on her lips.  
She didn´t know what had caused the boy´s sudden change in behaviour, but it didn´t matter. Esdeath lowered her guard and gladly returned his affection.  
But that was what Tatsumi had hoped for. He moved his right hand to a spot on the upper end of her neck and pressed it with his thumb, causing the general´s body to go limp, not only surprising her, but Luke and the other soldiers as well.

Tatsumi turned on his heel and sprinted towards Luke at full speed, reaching out with his right arm.  
But Luke seemed to have figured out the youth´s intentions. The vice-commander strengthened the grip on the reins of the white stallion and shifted his weight slightly to avoid losing them.  
The soldier, however, was surprised when Tatsumi suddenly pulled back his right arm and instead grabbed the reins of Luke´s black stallion with his left.  
Because of his effort to secure the white stallion from Tatsumi, he didn´t stand a chance when the boy pulled the reins out of his right hand, mounting the stallion in one quick motion and heading towards the city, leaving the still surprised soldiers and a worried Esdeath, still unable to move, behind.

 **Esdeath**

 _`How? How could I let that happen?! Dammit!´  
_ For the first time in many years Esdeath was genuinely worried; worried about what to do. She had been too careless.  
When Tatsumi came close to her half a minute ago and tapped her on the shoulder, she had been sure that he´d commend her for her strength as well as her army´s. But instead, he had kissed her until she´d lowered her guard.  
When she did, he used the chance and pressed a spot on her neck that would have caused her to pass out if she weren´t that strong. Nontheless, her body felt limp. Even though her legs felt numb, she pushed herself up from the ground, starting to move towards her vice-commander with quivering legs.

 _`How could I let myself be distracted by such a thing?!´_  
The anger at her carelessness returned. It was partly her fault that Tatsumi might get himself in danger right now.  
She only realized what was going on as soon as he got onto Luke´s stallion and leapt towards the city. It took her only a few seconds to see that he must have noticed Numa Seika drawing near his two friends from before. She didn´t care about those men at all; she didn´t even remember their names anymore. But he cared for them deeply and she knew that. She growled. Whoever placed them on the front lines would be better off killing himself if she found him.

But right now there wasn´t much time to think about such things. She had to figure out how to stop Tatsumi before he engaged the undefeated Northerner. She was sure of Tatsumi´s potential, but Seika was in another league … at least for now.  
She had thought about using her powers to stop the horse, but if something went wrong and the stallion reacted in an unforeseen way, Tatsumi could be gravely injured. There was only one option left.

``You´ll take command from here on!´´  
Her voice was full off authority as she spoke to Luke, while she stumbled towards her subordinate. The feeling in her body was already returning by now due to her strength.

``Yes, Ma´am!´´  
He replied while she mounted the white stallion, taking the reins out of his hand. She drove the heels in the horse´s side and spurned it to accelerate as fast as possible towards the city. Hopefully, she´d get to Tatsumi in time.

 **Tatsumi**

 _`Faster! I have to be faster if_ _I want to save them.´  
_ He didn´t have to many thoughts. He just kept his gaze on Shin and Steve as well as the Norterners´ hero who drew closer and closer to them. And Tatsumi himself was only halfway to them.  
Tatsumi didn´t care about the glares he got from the soldiers he passed. He didn´t even hear the insults of those he nearly crushed under his horse.  
The only things that existed for him right now were his friends and the acute danger they were in.

 **Numa Seika**

 _`Those damn Imperial bastards!´  
_ Numa fought his way through countless numbers of enemy soldiers that had gotten into the fortress.  
 _`I was only away for about ten minutes to go through every last possible scenario with my officers and they managed to crush our defenses in one move?´  
_ He had expected the Empire´s strongest army led by the `Ice-Queen´ to be a tough foe, but this was far beyond his expectations.  
 _`It doesn´t matter. If we want to be free, we´ll have to crush them. It´s our only chance.´_

He had started his way towards the hole in the wall right after a giant ball of ice crushed it out of nowhere. But until now, no opponent had been able to stop him on his way. He had tried to avoid fighting for now, but those arrogant Imperials underestimated him and had simply tried to kill him while he´d passed by. They should have known that they´d stood no chance, but he didn´t care. If they were that eager to throw away their lives, he´d gladly assist them.  
Finally, only two more enemy soldiers blocked his way to the wall. He couldn´t help but pity them for a bit. One look was enough to tell they were no regular soldiers but recruited out of the populace of the Empire. One was actually too old, the other seemed too inexperienced for a trained soldier.

``I´m sorry, but you are in my way. At least I´ll grant you a quick death!´´  
He leapt forward, throwing his spear from his left hand to his right, ducking under the slash of the younger man who had aimed for his head with his sword.  
In a quick motion he spun around, aiming his spear at the younger one´s legs, creating a deep cut in the soldier´s right thigh, causing him to fall forward. By lowering the spearhead, the shaft of his spear had gotten high enough to hit the older soldier in his temple during the swift motion before, knocking him out cold.

 _`I´m sorry for that, but I won´t let your deaths be painful.´  
_ Numa walked towards the younger man since he obviously had to endure more pain. He´d end it in a matter of seconds.  
He rose his spear, ready to stab it through the man´s heart from behind in order to end his life without much more unnecessary pain.

Numa was just about to finish it, when he sensed the massive killing intent behind him, causing him to jump over the man on the ground. His sixth sense had just saved him from being impaled by the sword of another young soldier who seemed to have arrived on a black stallion moments ago. With a short glance towards the youth´s face he could see all of the anger and determination in it. He instantly knew that this foe would be formidable.

 **Esdeath**

Even if her face didn´t show it in the slightest, she was utterly horrified. She hadn´t managed to get Tatsumi before he could enter the fortress and now he had engaged Numa Seika himself in an attempt to save his friends.

 _`Fuck!´  
_ Esdeath hadn´t been that upset in a long time.  
 _`How much trouble can one boy create? First he was nearly killed by my officer and now he´s fighting a seasoned warrior outclassing him by far and I´m unable to do anything right now!´_

Normally, Esdeath would simply go all out on the warriors of the Northern tribe, but right now that would mean increasing the danger for her beloved and most likely his death. She frowned at the thought.  
What made the situation much worse were the Northerners encircling Tatsumi. The first wave of her soldiers had been crushed with the intervention of Numa Seika and right now there were no Imperial soldiers left inside the fortress except Tatsumi and his two friends; one unconscious and the other unable to fight due to a deep cut in his thigh.  
Esdeath had made her decision in the fraction of a second. Right now it was most important to clear Tatsumi´s back and kill the soldiers surrounding him.  
If she intervened in the duel herself, Tatsumi would be in danger while she engaged Numa Seika. Therefore, she had to hope that he´d hold out until the soldiers were taken care of and she could finally fight the Northerners´ hero without worry.

``You!´´  
She turned her head towards a lieutenant leading his men towards the hole in the ice-wall. Upon seeing her cold expression and sensing her leaking killing intent, the man gulped. He couldn´t help but feel terrified.  
``Take your men and follow me! We´ll clear the encirclement of enemies around our last soldiers in the fortress! Nobody except myself will engage Numa Seika!´´  
The lieutenant nodded, signaling his men to follow their general. With that, Esdeath and her soldiers ran towards the fortress and engaged the Northerners.

 **Inside Winterberg**

The battle inside had died down. All of the invading soldiers were dead except for three. But since only one of them was able to fight, the Northerners thought of it as an easy task. Even more because the young Imperial had to face their unbeaten prince.  
A big circle had formed around the three Imperials and Numa Seika. The soldiers waited for him to end the fight and give them their orders. Numa Seika however didn´t intend to fight a duel … at least not this time.

 _`Screw it!´  
_ The Northerners´ hero frowned.  
 _`I don´t like the idea of playing dirty, but I´ve no time left to spare. We have to secure the fortress before more of those damn Imperial bastards come. I´m sorry boy; please forgive me.´  
_ He turned his head towards the soldiers encircling them and motioned them to kill the three remaining enemies. His men understood and started to close the circle as fast as they could with weapons drawn. Seika gave the youth a compassionate smile. At least the three of them would die fast.

The Northerners were just about to overwhelm Tatsumi and his friends from behind as suddenly Esdeath and her men broke through the circle of enemies and engaged them, causing the Northerners to ignore Tatsumi and the two wounded in order to fight the newly arrived opponent.

Numa Seika growled. On the one hand, he was glad that he could keep up his honor and fight the boy in a duel one on one, but on the other hand he was sure it would cost him lots of time. And right at that moment, a much more troublesome foe than that boy had shown up on the battlefield.  
The Empire´s strongest general had made her way to the front-lines and Numa Seika knew that nobody except him would be able to deal with her.  
There was only one option left for him. He had to get rid of the young soldier in front of him as quickly as possible and take her on afterwards. Hopefully, not too many of his men would have to die before that would happen.  
With that in mind, Seika readied his spear. He took the shaft in his right hand and held it parallel to the ground and bent his knees slightly. Focusing on his opponent he leapt forward, ready to pierce his spear through the boy´s body.

 **Tatsumi**

Only a glance at Numa Seika was enough for him to tell that he stood only a slim chance against the seasoned warrior. He was thankful he could focus on this duel since Esdeath had intervened with the enemy´s army. At least he wouldn´t have to look out for his friends nor for his own back now.  
Tatsumi gripped his sword with both of his hands, lowering its tip to the ground while anticipating his enemy´s first move. His mind became ignorant to everything around him; his eyes turned dull. He was ready to give his all in the upcoming fight. If there was only a slight chance to stop his opponent here, he´d definitely use it to help not only his friends but the Imperial army as well. He was a soldier after all.

When Numa Seika leapt forward, his spear in his right hand, Tatsumi was barely able to follow his opponent´s movement with his eyes. He brought his sword up just in time to avoid being impaled by his enemy´s spear. But even so, the force behind Numa Seika´s attack was big enough to push the surprised Tatsumi back half a meter, as his foe´s weapon connected with the flat side of his sword.  
Tatsumi had to wait until Seika pulled back his spear to try a slash on his enemy´s throat, but the Northerner had no problem avoiding it, countering Tatsumi´s movement with a thrust of his own.  
But again Tatsumi was able to dodge the sharp edge of the spear at the last second.

Numa Seika had a huge advantage concerning the range of his weapon, making it nearly impossible for Tatsumi to deliver a strike to his foe. There was no other option however to try it; even if it proved futile.  
Tatsumi knew he stood only a chance if his opponent made a mistake and created an opening, but the seasoned warrior was just too experienced to let that happen.  
His spear-handling was masterful; Tatsumi had to admit that. From time to time, Numa Seika would twirl his spear with both hands too quickly for Tatsumi to follow. Then, he would suddenly stop and attack, changing the side as well as the angle of his spear every time.

Luckily, Tatsumi was able to avoid critical blows until now; but he couldn´t avoid several cuts limiting his movement.  
Tatsumi was pushed to defense and he knew the fight would only be a loss if that continued.  
It already lasted for about fifteen minutes and since he hadn´t recovered entirely from the aftermath of his last fight, he felt the impact of his efforts in form of exhaustion.  
His foe on the other hand looked like he hadn´t worked up a sweat at all. Furthermore, Tatsumi couldn´t determine any signs of exhaustion. Tatsumi wasn´t even able to hit him once. No scratch could be found on Seika´s armor. He was sure the Northerner would be able to go on like that for another ten minutes before it´d start to affect him slightly.  
But Tatsumi himself couldn´t possibly last that long. He knew the fight would be decided within the next five minutes if nobody came to his aid.

He looked around. Shin was still unconscious and unable to help him. When his gaze shifted to his other friend, Steve looked right back, his eyes apologizing for his inability to help. He´d wanted to stand up and help Tatsumi for the last fifteen minutes, but it seemed that Numa Seika had cut the muscles in his thigh, since he was unable to stand up no matter how hard he tried.  
Hopefully, some of the Imperial soldiers could help him, but they and Esdeath were still fighting off the enemy soldiers and their incoming reinforcements surrounding him and his opponent. Frankly, it didn´t look good at all for him.  
No matter how he looked at it, he had to deal with Numa Seika by himself.

Tatsumi remembered the oath he had made to protect his friends and comrades. He thought back to the promise he made the elder and the villagers before parting. He still wasn´t able to earn the money they needed. But looking at his friends, he had already made his decision.

 _`I´m sorry elder. I know I promised to help our village, but right now I want to save my friends. If you were in my position right now, you´d get to the same conclusion, wouldn´t you? I hope that all of you can forgive me alongside Sayo and Ieyasu for failing so badly.´_  
Tatsumi knew what he had to do. He´d take out his opponent no matter the cost. A smile plastered his face as he thought about all his beloved ones and with that he repositioned his sword in his right hand, leaving him completely open on his left side.  
He was ready for what was about to come.

 **Esdeath**

It couldn´t be true. Where did all these enemies come from? Their reinforcements came wave after wave, leaving her no chance to go and help Tatsumi.  
Her glance wandered towards him. She instantly realized the situation ... and she didn´t like it. He was clearly disadvantaged.

The feeling of anger crept through her mind as she imagined losing her beloved after she had just found him. She spun around, kicking an enemy in front of her in his temple with her heel, crushing his skull to pieces due to her force. His companion watching the scene was left motionless by the brutal display. When she turned her head towards him, he threw his weapon away, begging for mercy, but she simply pierced his head with her rapier, which exited the corpse´s head through its backside.  
She´d have to deal with these pests much faster if she wanted to save Tatsumi, so she didn´t care about letting them suffer. Not this time.

Suddenly, a scream of agony was heard from the direction the duel was taking place in. Everyone ceased fighting and looked into the same direction, no matter the situation they were in.  
Esdeath did too. Her face petrified in an expression of anger, horror and sadness as she saw the scene in front of her eyes. She wanted to act but her legs wouldn´t move. For the first time in her life since she went to the Capital, she displayed such an amount of weakness.

 **Tatsumi**

He had been prepared for the pain since he had lowered his guard. Nonetheless, he couldn´t help but scream in pain.  
Tatsumi had been waiting until the last moment and slashed at the incoming spear. He had managed to part the spear´s head from the shaft but was unable to avoid being impaled through his left side by the latter.  
He barely noticed anymore that all the fighting ceased around him to watch the duels outcome.  
He still held his sword in his right hand but Numa Seika smiled at him with a compassionate smile, not seeing Tatsumi as a threat anymore.

``I´m sorry for the pain boy, but this fight is over now.´´  
Numa Seika felt a mix of despair and delight.  
His beloved spear was broken. He wouldn´t be able to fix it. How should he fight the `Ice-Queen´ now?  
But at least one obstacle was out of his way now.

``You´re … right … about … that.´´  
Tatsumi couldn´t avoid coughing up his own blood. But right now, he couldn´t afford to let this opening go to waste since he had made it by betting on his luck.  
With all of his remaining strength he grabbed the shaft of his opponent´s spear with his left hand, surprising the warrior visibly. Tatsumi turned his body to the side, causing Numa Seika to stumble forward. The surprised prince couldn´t react in time since he hadn´t expect such a move.

Using his only chance as well as the fact that Numa Seika couldn´t defend himself with his weapon anymore, Tatsumi tightened the grip on his sword and rammed it through his foe´s guts in an angle pointing upwards. The sword went in through the prince´s abdomen, piercing his heart, and went out through his back, near his shoulder.

 **Numa Seika**

The prince let go of his spear´s shaft, starting to cough blood himself. He stumbled back a few steps, grabbing the hilt of the sword that had pierced him. His eyes widened in shock. Tatsumi could see the signs of realization and disbelief.  
But as quickly as that expression had come, it was gone again; replaced by a look that seemed like a mix of respect and sadness in Tatsumi´s eyes.

``For the … first time … in my life … I lost. It´s o-over … now. W-what´s your … n-name warrior? T-tell … m-me so that … I can … r-rem-member it in … the a-afterlife.´´  
The prince stared right into Tatsumi´s eyes, his own vision slowly fading.

``My … n-name … is … Tat..sumi.´´  
The young soldier answered with a weak voice.

``Tat...su...mi.´´  
The prince swore he wouldn´t forget that name as everything he could see became black except for a bright light in front of him. He was drawn to that light like a moth to a flame and he willingly followed its call.  
He thought about all those who had followed him until now and couldn´t help but feel sorry for them since everything they dreamt of ended now; but he had lost fair and square.  
Like that, his heart stopped and his body fell on its right side, devoid of any life.

 **Esdeath**

She could feel the disbelief of all the gathered soldiers around her as well as the despair creeping though the numbers of enemy-soldiers. But seeing Tatsumi´s condition, she couldn´t enjoy the loss of hope like she usually did.

As her soldiers regained their calm and - pushed on by the death of their biggest foe - started slaughtering the remaining enemies in their state of despair, her feet still were glued to the same spot as before. She wanted to run to Tatsumi and treat his wounds, but her body just wouldn´t react to her command the way she´d have liked it to do.  
It took her another ten seconds until her legs started to move in Tatsumi´s direction in a pace too slow for her likeness.

 **Tatsumi**

He felt the whole impact of the fight. His body hurt and the bleeding wouldn´t stop. He couldn´t avoid coughing up blood more often. He knew he was on the edge of death, but he had to ensure one last thing.  
He looked towards Steve who stared back at him with wide eyes, expressing the latter´s feeling of horror.  
With his remaining strength Tatsumi started to stumble towards his friend, grabbing the spear´s shaft with both of his hands and breaking it in order to move better.

 **Steve**

``Tatsumi, stop it!´´  
Steve looked at the boy with tears in the corner of his eyes. Why didn´t the boy just leave him be? Why was he pushing himself that far?  
But the boy didn´t react. Tatsumi stumbled all the way to Steve until he stood right next to him, falling onto his knees.  
``Tatsumi, please, just rest already!´´  
Steve pleaded again, his voice full of sorrow. But again the boy didn´t react.  
Instead Tatsumi ripped apart a piece of fabric his uniform was made off and wrapped it around Steve´s thigh, the latter realizing what the former was trying to accomplish.  
``Why?´´

``I had … to s-stop … y-your bleeding.´´  
Tatsumi looked right back at Steve, mustering the last of his strength to give his friend an assuring smile.  
``I-I´m f-fine.´´  
Tatsumi was barely able to finish his sentence as he fell to his side and ceased all movement. His last thought before everything went black was directed towards the oath he had managed to fulfill. None of his friends had died.

 **Esdeath**

She only reached her beloved as he finally passed out due to his intense loss of blood. His pale and motionless body made her gasp in shock. She felt a cold sweat on her neck as she noticed that Tatsumi was barely breathing. The Northerner´s spear´s shaft was still impaled through the boy´s body and blood was still pouring out of his wound.

If she wanted to save him, she had to act quickly. Esdeath bent down and took the limp body of her beloved in her arms. She turned on her heels and leapt towards the carriage that was used to transport the medical equipment to the front as quickly as possible without risking any more damage to his body, since Tatsumi most likely wouldn´t survive that.

Saving his live was a race against time and the prospects of success were small.

 **That concludes my longest chapter so far.**

 **Thanks again for reading the story and posting your reviews, opinions and questions. I took my time and reacted to all of them as always.  
Like always a special `Thank You´ to my friends and Betas.**

 **Concerning Chapter 5:**  
 **I already started to write it and finished the most difficult part.**  
 **But since I´ll have to pass my exams (starting in two weeks), I won´t finish it in time :/**  
 **I´ll to update it until 15th of August.**  
 **I know that´s quite a long period of time, so I decided to make a special offer just this once:**  
 **Anyone who can´t wait until then can write me a PM. I´ll answer those right after my exams (24th of July).**  
 **I´ll tell those who are interested what I planned concerning Tatsumi´s situation as well as the rest of the next chapter.**

 **Feel free to ask questions and tell me your opinions. Feel free to review.**  
 **Feel free to send in your (OC-)requests.**

 **Enjoy the site and spread the feelings :)**  
 **I´m out for this time.**

 **Marcel M.**


	5. Chapter 5: Kill the ineptitude

****Welcome back to `A different destiny´. Hope you didn´t have to wait for too long :)****

 **I´m pretty sorry that I missed my deadline, but I had to rewrite most of the chapter, since I felt the need to put my ideas in an other order than I had intended. I hope you can understand that. I promise I´ll try to be faster with my next chapter.**

 **Thanks for all those encouraging comments and reviews. I really appreciated them.**  
 **Callac : I´d like to answer your question, but that would give away too much of my plot. I can only say, that she intended to put him in the group right away as she stated that. That way she could train him in person and no other military leader could give him commands. Naturally, she wouldn´t let him partake in difficult missions right away.**

 **I´ll try to change some small things in the older chapters. I won´t change a part of the story though. So don´t worry about that.**

 **Now enjoy.**

DISCLAIMER:  
I DON´T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO THE "AKAME GA KILL"-FRANCHISE. THE MANGA WAS WRITTEN BY TAKAHIRO AND ILLUSTRATED BY TETSUYA TASHIRO.  
THIS FANFIC HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN FOR PROFIT!  
IT MAY CONTAINS SPOILER!  
IT´LL INCLUDE BRUTAL CONSIDERED SCENES! ** **  
****

 ** **Chapter 5: Kill the ineptitude****

 _`Where am I?´  
Tatsumi stood in an empty place. Everything around him was white. He couldn´t see anything in the distance. It seemed like endless emptiness.  
He started to walk forward step by step. He was sure that he´d find out what this place was somehow._

 ** **In a medical carriage****

Esdeath couldn´t afford to waste any more time. The boy had lost a lot of blood during the last five minutes. Frankly spoken, it was a miracle that he was still alive.

The medic had realized the dire situation even before she had reached the carriage. With the spear still sticking out of the limp body and heavy bleeding, he´d known he had no time left.  
In mere seconds the boy was placed on his side on a blanket inside the carriage.

``He needs a transfusion. Now!´´  
The doctor looked right at the still horrified general, seeing such an expression on her face for the first time ever.  
``I have to know his blood type!´´

``You can take mine; I´ve got blood type 0 Negative!´´  
Esdeath didn´t avert her eyes from the boy who was near-death while she was pulling back the sleeve of her right arm.

``You´re a universal donor. Great!´´  
The medic didn´t need any time to think about what to do. In a matter of seconds, he prepared the transfusion equipment.  
He inserted a needle in the general´s arm and sucked in the blood. A thin pipe made of flexible plastic led the blood into a translucent bag that hung from the carriage´s ceiling.  
After finishing the preparation, the doctor turned to his assistants.

``The first tube of 500ml will be ready in about ten minutes. We´ll have to stop the bleeding until then!´´  
The doctor quickly slipped on his surgical gloves and gave the boy anesthetic to slow down his pulse and avoid any possible convulsions.  
He had to get that damn shaft out of the way as quickly as possible.  
``Take some sheets and press them on the wound!´´  
The medic focused solely on getting the broken shaft out of the boy´s body while he ordered his assistants to stop the blood loss.

Esdeath couldn´t help but avert her eyes from the gruesome display. Normally, some blood couldn´t sicken her; she had seen worse than that after being finished with her _playthings_ before. But for the first time in her life, she didn´t enjoy seeing a person on the edge of death. Was it because she claimed said person to be her lover? She didn´t know for sure. But at this point, all she did was pray for his survival.

Finally, the doctor pulled out the broken shaft through the boy´s back in one go. A large amount of blood gushed out of the wound instantly. The bleeding resulted from an artery that was damaged by the shaft.  
They had to hurry now. In a matter of seconds, the doctor had clamped the damaged part of the artery and tried to get a look at it.

``Clean it! I need to see the artery.´´  
Instantly, one assistant removed the blood, dirt and pus from the wound.  
The doctors face brightened slightly. They were lucky since the boy´s artery had only a small rupture. That would definitely ease the surgery.  
With a small needle and thread he stitched the rupture together in a matter of a few minutes. Unclipping the artery afterwards, he noticed with satisfaction that the bleeding had ceased.

``The bleeding has ceased and his organs aren´t heavily damaged,´´ the doctor stated while turning to the still upset general.  
``It´s a miracle! But he´s still not out of the worst.´´

Since the first tube was filled with the general´s blood already, the doctor exchanged it with a second empty tube, while he connected the first one with another thin pipe that ended in a needle.  
He inserted the needle in the boy´s arm. Slowly, the donated blood started to flow into the youth, replacing the amount he had lost.  
Finished with that, the doctor sewed the two open wounds on Tatsumi´s front and back, closing them neatly.

``We´ll definitely need another donation.´´  
Finished with patching the boy up, the doctor turned his head towards Esdeath.  
`` He lost lots of blood and it wouldn´t be wise to donate more than one liter.´´

When he confirmed her approval he turned around and took two samples of Tatsumi´s blood from the puddle that had formed on the bottom of the carriage. He divided each sample in three smaller ones.

``I need antibodies against the groups A, B and AB as well as a blood sample of A,B and 0.´´  
While the assistants were busy in getting the different samples, the doctor himself started searching for the small ampules he knew containing the serums to determine the Rhesus-factor of the boy´s blood.  
After he had found them in a small medical bag and his assistants had gotten the samples, he started his work and after two minutes had determined the boy´s blood-group as A Negative.  
Finally, knowing Tatsumi´s blood group, the assistants readied already prepared blood reserves they´d use after the transfusion of the general´s blood was finished.

 ** **Tatsumi****

 _It felt like he had walked for an eternity when he finally noticed something in the far distance.  
He wasn´t able to determine what it was at first, but as he approached, he could see it better.  
It was a gate nearly five meters high and ten meters wide and was located above a small hill. Steps of perfect white marble led towards the gate. It consisted of bars made of pure gold and was held in place by two silver shining columns._

 _`What is this place?´_  
 _Tatsumi turned around and looked in all directions; he couldn´t help but wonder._  
 _What was going on? Why was he here? What was this place? He had a lot of questions, but no answers at all._  
 _`Eventually I should try to open that gate. Perhaps I find my answers beyond it.´_

 _``Don´t do it. It´s not your turn yet.´´_  
 _Surprised by the familiar voice coming from behind the gate, Tatsumi winced._  
 _The boy turned slowly back to the gate only to look in Sayo´s eyes once more._

 _``SAYO?!,´´ shouted a surprised Tatsumi, who had deeply wished to see his former friends after the last time he´d met them in his dreams._

 _``Yeah, Tatsumi. It´s Sayo. Thank you, by the way, that you noticed me too!´´_  
 _Ieyasu stepped forward, placing himself next to Sayo. He sighed._  
 _``But she´s right. You shouldn´t be here.´´_

 _``Hi, Ieyasu. Sorry about that. I was just surprised to meet Sayo. I didn´t even notice you,´´ answered Tatsumi, feeling guilty not to have noticed his other friend before._  
 _``What is this place by the way?´´_

 _``It´s heaven´s gate.´´_  
 _Ieyasu´s expression was completely serious. There was no way he´d joke about that matter._

 _``So I´m dead, huh?,´´ replied a saddened Tatsumi without sounding surprised at all._  
 _He had thought about this possibility for quite some time now. If he was true to himself, it didn´t bother him at all. He had seen so much pain and felt even more sorrow in such a short amount of time._  
 _He had managed to save his new friends after all, it wouldn´t matter if he´d rest now._

 _``Yes and no,´´ answered Sayo with a serious expression._  
 _``It´s only definite if you enter through this gate. Right now, you´re only on the verge of death.´´_

 _``So I only have to enter?´´_  
 _Tatsumi wasn´t fazed as Ieyasu´s fist hit him through the bars right into his gut. His friend looked pretty upset about that question._  
 _Tatsumi had to catch his breath._  
 _``Why?´´_

 _``Don´t you dare think like that ever again!,´´ raged a furious Ieyasu._  
 _``Your time hasn´t come; you have to help our village in our stead. You even have new friends to care for. We know you´d never forget us. So keep us alive in your memories.´´_

 _``I needed that.´´_  
 _Tears streamed down Tatsumi´s cheeks. He knew Ieyasu was right. He had a reason to live._

 _``It´s time to go back Tatsumi,´´ said a smiling Sayo._  
 _``One day, we´ll meet again; but live on until then and stay true to yourself.´´_

 _`Sayo is right. It´s time to return.´_  
 _Tatsumi bid farewell to his friends, turned around, and walked down the stairs away from the gate and his friends, determined to find an exit._

 ** **In the medical tent****

``I hope he´s strong enough.´´  
Steve stood next to the cot the unconscious boy´s body was placed on, shifting his weight on a pair of wooden crutches.

``Me too,´´ replied Shin, looking at the boy with an expression of regret.  
``He had to step in again because we were too weak. At this rate, his death is certain!´´  
The old man rubbed his temple slowly through his bandage.  
Numa Seika had left quite a toll on them thanks to their lack of fighting power. But they didn´t care. Their lives hadn´t been in danger after the fight after all.

``I´ll tell you the same thing I told the general: You should rest!´´  
The medic had entered the tent, returning from his small break.  
``It´s important for your wounds to heal; furthermore, you can´t help him right now. I treated him as well as possible; it´s up to him.´´

``We just want-´´  
Steve couldn´t finish his sentence when the doctor called in his assistants to accompany them to their tent. As his eye bags showed, he was far too tired to for that sort of discussion.  
He had spent his last two nights without much sleep after all, since he was worried what could happen, if Esdeath´s proclaimed lover died.  
He had nearly been killed by her when he told her to rest after all.  
Thank god he´d said it´d be best for the boy if she gave him as much peace as possible. And even after that he had to use quite an amount of sleeping pills to help her to sleep without being near the boy. He sighed.

``You can visit him after he gets better.´´  
The doctor knew that this was the best he could say to calm them down.  
``But as long as he´s in coma, it wouldn´t be wise to cause a ruckus.´´

``We know you´re right,´´ replied Steve, placing himself in front of the doctor with a sorrowful expression in his eyes.  
``But at least let me give him this little ring.´´  
While he continued speaking, he placed his hands on a thin silvery chain around his neck and lifted it over his head, making a small black ring with blood-red lining visible.  
``It´s the only valuable thing I still possess. I bought it from a merchant before I had to close my shop and joined the army. Back then, he had told me that this ring would be able to protect me. I didn´t believe it until recently and kept it solely as a keepsake. But it´s a miracle that I´m still alive after all that´s happened. Eventually, this ring brought me the fortune to meet Tatsumi. But right now I think, Tatsumi needs fortune more than myself.´´

The doctor gave a short nod. This was the best option to solve this quickly and without noise.  
He watched Steve walking towards the cot and placing the chain around the boy´s neck. Afterwards, Shin and Steve left the tent without any further arguing.  
After he had sent his assistants out of the tent again, the doctor looked at the still unconscious youth. He had done everything he could; now he could only hope the boy was strong enough to survive. He knew his life would end in the torture chambers if that wasn´t the case.  
The doctor turned around with one last sigh and left the tent, closing up the entrance behind him, wrapping the boy in complete darkness.  
There was no chance he could have noticed the ring starting to glow as crimson as blood.

 ** **Tatsumi****

 _He had walked for quite some time now without changing his general direction. He was determined to find his way out of this place. But no matter how far he got, all he could see was nothing but white light._

 _`It can´t be! There must be a way out of this! I don´t-´_  
 _Tatsumi´s thoughts were interrupted when something strange happened. His white surroundings first turned blood-red and finally pitch black. Not a spark of white was left for Tatsumi to see. He was completely blind._

 ** _ **``Finally, after all that time!´´**_** ** _  
_** _A voice like thunder boomed through the endless darkness out of nowhere, giving the youth a feeling of dread. Tatsumi had to swallow. Who or what was speaking?!_

 _``W-who a-are y-you?,´´ asked the terrified boy, turning around himself._

 ** _ **``Me?**_ _,´´_** _responded the deep voice, echoing from every direction at the same time._ ** _  
_** ** _ **``They**_** ** _ **used to call me Kyuketsuki. But since I am no longer alive in my original form, that name is long forgotten.´´**_**

 _``Original form?´´_  
 _Tatsumi wasn´t able to comprehend the situation. What was going on? He had to find out._

 ** _ **``My body, formed from darkness and sorrow. My flesh, my blood.**_** ** _´´  
_** _The voice roared through Tatsumi´s environment._ ** _  
``_** ** _ **I once was a feared Beast; feared by humans and my kin. I was all alone on top of the food chain, but I never enjoyed it. A creature like me shouldn´t have existed. I was glad that your kind redeemed me after I had suffered my existence, unable to get salvation by myself. They should have left it at that, but against any sense of pride, those cursed beings had to make me into a weapon.**_** ** _´´  
_** _The growling voice caused the boy to gulp. He could sense a sphere of anger waving over him._

 _``If you now are a weapon made of the remains of a Danger Beast, are you a Teigu then?´´_  
 _Tatsumi felt more fear than ever before facing the terrifying aura, but he had to know whether this being could help him out of his situation or not._

 ** _ **``Hmmm; do you know about the Teigu? Interesting.**_** ** _´´  
_** _The sentence had just ended, as the darkness that engulfed Tatsumi retreated, letting him see the endless white room again._

 _The boy´s eyes widened in surprise, when the darkness compressed itself into a human-like form._  
 _It was about two meters tall and its pitch black body looked quite muscular. Two wings spread out from its shoulders, like those of a bat. Two long curled horns stuck out from its head. Together with the red horizontal slits instead of its eyes, the horns gave it a terrifying look._  
 _Tatsumi had never imagined a demon before, but if he had, he would have thought of a frightening appearance like that._  
 _What made it look even more demonic were its teeth. Tatsumi couldn´t see a mouth, but he noticed two small fangs where its mouth should be._

 ** _ **``Huh. Are you scared, young one?**_** ** _,´´_** _asked the being with a_ _n a_ _mused voice._ ** _  
``_** ** _ **I´ve even chosen a form fitting for this situation, considering that I could have been much bigger.**_** ** _´´  
_** _It couldn´t help but chuckle at the shivering boy._ ** _  
``_** ** _ **You, however, know about the Teigu, don´t you?´´**_**

 _``I-I do. M-my comrades t-told me, t-that the T-Teigu are weapons m-made of parts of D-Danger Beasts or r-rare materials f-fused with something c-connected to a B-Beast. T-They contain p-parts of the B-Beast´s original p-powers.´´_  
 _Tatsumi had noticed that this being didn´t intend to harm him for now. Nonetheless, the boy couldn´t avoid stuttering in fear._

 ** _ **``That´s right.**_** ** _´´  
_** _The being nodded in approval._ ** _  
``_** ** _ **But you forgot one major point. A Teigu can only be used by a person who is acknowledged by the Danger Beast the Teigu is made of. Some Beasts test the possible wielder of their Teigu by putting a strain on them to see how they react, others react based on the candidate´s first impression of them; if they shouldn´t be compatible, they drain the candidates power until he dies as long as there´s physical contact. I, however, am different. I don´t test my possible wielders, nor do I care about their first impression of me. If a person doesn´t fit me, I just won´t react at all.´´**_**

 _``Why are you telling me this?,´´ asked a perplexed Tatsumi, who had forgotten his fear while thinking about the being´s last words._

 ** _ **``The moment the Teigu connected to your body, I could see your past and feel your emotions and resolve.**_** ** _´´  
_** _The figure stared right into Tatsumi´s eyes._ ** _  
``_** ** _ **As I told you, I once stood at the top of the chain. I was unrivaled and feared. Back in that time, I would have despised your emotions as weak. But everytime I consumed the power of other beings, I couldn´t avoid consuming their thoughts and emotions too. All those emotions and feelings connected and changed my view of power and life step by step. The more i consumed, the more my power grew. On the other side it weakened my mind.I grew attached to what others thought about me and to the feeling of sorrow. I got to think, that this kind of life is depressing and lonely. I decided to stop preying on other creatures and try to live without being the monster they thought me to be. Thus I weakened myself for about a thousand years; but in exchange for that I lived more happy and fulfilled than ever before.´´  
**_** _Tatsumi could see the irony._ _This Beast was one of_ _the most powerful Beasts, but_ _the more it consumed those weaker than itself, the more it evolved human traits. He wasn´t sure whether it was a monster or a human speaking to him. But before he could think about this matter any more, the being continued._ ** _ **  
``I know you want to protect those weaker than you. Your friends, your village and those you deem righteous. That´s why I showed myself to you. Until now, I rejected everyone who tried to wield me because no one shared the ideals I grew attached to. Nobody was able to use my power and thus I became worthless. I got lost and was passed between individuals, ignoring them altogether.  
But you are the one person, that shall be able to inherit my powers if you long for it.´´**_**

 _``What are those powers and how strong are they?´´_  
 _Hearing about the possibility to use the Teigu for his purpose, Tatsumi had lost all of his remaining fear. He knew he had to grow stronger and he knew there was a limit to his own power. But he also knew that using a Teigu could help him surpass that limit by far._

 ** _ **``If I grant you my powers, you will be able to control darkness in many different ways; shadows will bend to your will and a dark surrounding will make you stronger. Right now, the powers I can grant you are small, but the stronger you get, the more power you will inherit.**_** ** _´´  
_** _The red slits locked right with Tatsumi´s eyes as the being spoke._ ** _  
``_** ** _ **Nonetheless, you won´t be able to reach the full potential of my power unless you meet one condition.**_** ** _´´  
_** _Tatsumi couldn´t avoid noticing the threatening undertone. He had to take a deep breath._

 _``What would that condition be?,´´ asked Tatsumi, staring back with a look full of determination._

 ** _ **``I hate it myself, but there´s no way helping it. The reason I was feared was that I preyed on other living beings. By consuming their energy and powers through their blood, I was able to grow stronger and evolve. Since I starved for more than a thousand years, defying my fate in order to enjoy my existence, I grew much weaker than I once was before I was defeated.  
There is a way for you to get my powers back to their original strength; you could even evolve them. But to do that, you will have to stain yourself in the blood of those weaker than you. You will have to cease the existence of those you can surpass to get stronger yourself. That´s my weapon´s trump card.´´  
**_** _Hearing that, Tatsumi´s eyes widened in realization. To grant his friends a peaceful life, he would have to bestow misery and death upon others. He would become the kind of monster he wanted to exterminate._  
 _He was determined to sacrifice almost everything but his own beliefs. But that was what would happen if he accepted.  
_ ** _ **``It doesn´t matter if you decide to use that ability or not,**_** _continued the shadow with a_ _hint_ _of pity in its voice, getting back Tatsumi´s attention.  
_ ** _ **If you deem it necessary to make your dream come true, I wouldn´t object against you using it. But if you, however, should abandon your dream and try to use this power solely for your own benefits, I wouldn´t hesitate to part our binding and take my powers away from you, most likely leading to your death.**_** ** _´´  
_** _Finishing the sentence, the being stretched out its right arm towards the boy, offering its hand.  
_ ** _ **``It´s up to you to decide whether you´ll take me up on my offer or not, boy.´´**_**

 _Tatsumi didn´t move. What should he do? Would it be fine to accept knowing these conditions? But on the other hand, how could he decline? This was his chance to get stronger; the chance to get closer to his goal. And as the being said: he didn´t have to use the special ability at all._  
 _He had made his decision. He took the hand, accepting the offer. He wouldn´t use that cursed ability, if there was no urgency to do so._  
 _The moment he had touched the being, the shadows dissolved and entered his body. A strange feeling crept through every last inch of it, as they spread though his veins._

 ** _ **``The ring you received has entered your body and placed itself around the artery near your heart.**_** ** _´´  
_** _Even if the being was gone, Tatsumi could hear the voice right in his mind._ ** _  
``_** ** _ **You won´t feel anything and nobody will be able to see any signs of it being there. You can only lose the power though my doing or if the ring is ripped out of your body.  
Until that happens, the power of darkness will be granted to you by myself. Whenever you need my advise or want to use my powers, call out my name as a Teigu: Shadow Weaver.´´**_**

 _Right after the voice had ended, Tatsumi felt somewhat tired. He didn´t know why, but it felt as if something forced him to close his eyes and he couldn´t fight it. He tried to call out to his new partner, but his voice failed. He slowly stumbled forward, until he fell due to exhaustion. He closed his eyes before he could hit the white ground, but he never felt an impact._

 ** **In the medical tent****

Tatsumi´s eyes shot open. Everything around him was pitch black except for a glowing red light emitting from his body. He could feel the presence of another powerful being from it.  
` _So it wasn´t a dream, huh?_ ´

 ** _ **``No it wasn´t,´´**_** answered the deep voice inside Tatsumi´s head. **  
``** ** _ **And thanks to my powers, your wounds were healed. This is a power called `Unsterblich´**_** **(A.N.:** ** _ **Immortal**_** **)** ** _ **. If you´re surrounded by darkness, you can consume it partly and heal all of your wounds that way. The darker your surrounding is, the better your body is healing. But since this is the first time I´ve used this ability in so long, I need to refill my energy. Therefore, I will rest.´´**_**

Tatsumi´s body still felt numb for the biggest part, but at least he could move his head. His gaze slowly wandered through the tent. Somehow, he was able to see every little thing inside the tent. It didn´t matter that there was no light left at all after the red glow had faded. He assumed it was a power that once belonged to Kyuketsuki. **  
**From his position he was able to detect some medical equipment as well as other empty cots. He figured he had to be in the medical tent. Even if that was the proper place for his treatment, it surprised him somehow. After getting to know ** _that woman_** , he could have sworn she´d let him be treated in her tent or at least that she´d be near him until he´d be better. Little did he know, that that had been her intention until the doctor had sent her away. **  
**But right now it was for the better this way. Tatsumi didn´t want to deal with her finding out about his new abilities. He´d only tell her after he´d figure out more about their nature. **  
**The boy slowly tried to move his body when he felt, that the numbness had lifted partially. He slowly got back the feeling in his arms, followed by his upper body, and last but not least his legs and feet. After five more minutes, he was finally able to sit up in his cot. **  
**He carefully examined his body in the darkness. To his surprise there were no signs left of his fatal injury. He couldn´t even detect scars.

Tatsumi waited for another few minutes before he slowly stood up. Right now, the only thing on his mind was to test his body. Had everything recovered; were there any aftermaths of his injury he hadn´t noticed?  
He walked around in the tent until he had found a spare uniform that he put on. The difference to his own uniform were the paramedics´ insignia stitched on them, picturing a snake winding around a wooden rod.  
After he had dressed, the youth snuck out through the back of the tent to avoid a commotion in the camp.

The night was cold, but he had experienced worse than that. He carefully walked through the camp, anxious to stay unnoticed by anyone. To his luck, there were only a few guards patrolling inside the camp at night. Tatsumi avoided camp fires and walked with his head facing the ground. After a few tents, he turned left and exited the camp´s boundaries to search for an empty place with some distance to the camp.

` _This place should do_ ,´ thought Tatsumi after walking for about ten minutes towards the same direction. **  
**He stood in the middle of a wide field covered by thick layers of snow and ice. When he turned around, he could see the faint glow of the camp-fires in the distance. Since he didn´t plan to go all out while testing his body and some of his powers, he was sure that this distance was sufficient.  
He was just about to get started when he heard voices drawing near from the camps direction.  
Tatsumi decided it would be best for now if he hid in the forest that started about a hundred meters ahead of him. Otherwise, he wouldn´t be able to test his strength anymore that night. He was sure about that.  
Running at full speed, he managed to reach the trees just in time to hide before a pair of soldiers reached the field. Tatsumi hid, avoiding any unnecessary noise. It was then that he began to hear them talking towards each other.

``Damn! Why do we have to go here?´´  
The soldier sounded quite a bit annoyed.

``To make sure that nobody got out of this.´´  
His companion instead seemed pretty calm. Tatsumi figured he was used to whatever task they had.

``Got out? Of this?´´  
The first man started to laugh.  
``Damn it; even we´d have trouble getting out of those depths by digging upwards through snow and ice, and we´re trained soldiers. Those weren´t at all. This time she went over the top.´´  
Tatsumi felt irritated. What were they talking about? He just couldn´t figure it out.

``She seemed pretty angry. Something must have destroyed her good mood from before the battle; I´m pretty sure it has to do something with that boy,´´ answered the second man, illuminating the field with his torch.  
``I heard rumors that she nearly killed the doctor, after he had told her to stay away from the youth. I heard them right before she did _this_.´´  
Tatsumi could hear a hint of disgust in the soldiers voice. He had to find out what they were talking about.  
``Look, this one was close to surviving. Poor lad.´´  
Luring out from behind the tree, Tatsumi noticed one of the soldiers touching something with his boot.  
``But except for this one I can´t see anything either. Let´s return. It´s too dark out here.´´  
With that the two soldiers turned around and walked back towards the camp, leaving the youth alone again.

Tatsumi had a strange feeling. What were they talking about? He knew how he could find it out.  
He slowly walked towards the place the two soldiers were standing before and knelt down, examining the ground.  
What he saw made his stomach turn around inside. If he had eaten something before, he would have had vomited in an instant.  
An arm, seemingly belonging to a child not older than himself, was sticking out of the frozen ground. The hand was clawed into the uppermost layer of snow, as if the child was desperately trying to pull himself up.  
The horrifying truth in front of his eyes, Tatsumi started digging through snow and ice while repeating some of the soldiers´ words in his mind.

` _Nobody got out … no trained soldiers … she went over the top … angry … that boy_ ´ **  
**Tears started to stream down Tatsumi´s cheeks. His hands were already too cold to notice any sort of pain. The only sign of them being hurt was the blood trickling down his fingers.  
He stopped digging when he touched something strange. He tried to focus on the object to recognize it through his blurry vision. When he finally knew what it was, Tatsumi´s breath stopped.  
Right before him was the face of a teenager not older than sixteen. The eyes were wide open, snow had made its way into the teen´s mouth. He seemed to have been suffocated by it barely before he could reach the uppermost layer.

Tatsumi stood up slowly. He knew it´d be best to not dig further. He could imagine what he´d find. Since the Northerners´ had lost the battle, there should be a lot of captives. He hadn´t thought about it before, but he didn´t see even one until now.  
He knew there was only one person capable of such a deed – be it on her command or of her own doing. They didn´t call her `Ice Queen´ for nothing.  
Before he noticed what he was doing, Tatsumi had turned towards the forest in front of him. At first, he stumbled forward, crying over the horrific fate of all those people. But he got faster step by step.  
How could he face that monster and pretend not to know about what she did, or even worse pretending not to care about it.  
His mind was blank, yet he was sure it was the right option. He´d train and get stronger. One day, he´d be able to defeat anyone he deemed rotten to the core. He knew she´d follow him, but there was no way she´d ever find him, was there?  
His friends would be safe too, not knowing anything about his disappearance. That was what he thought at least.  
Certain of his resolve, the boy ran into the forest, not looking back towards the camp.

 **That concludes the chapter. I hope you liked it.**

 **As always I have to give my regards to my friends and Betas, especially `Love reading 3.14´ who most likely won´t be able to be my Beta anymore due to private circumstances. I liked our cooperation and wish you the best of luck.**

 **That being said:  
** **Feel free to ask questions and tell me your opinions. Feel free to review.  
** **Feel free to send in your (OC-)requests.**

 **Enjoy the site and spread the feelings :)**  
 **I´m out for this time.**

 **Marcel M.**


	6. Chapter 6: Kill the naivety

****Hey there; welcome back to `A different destiny´. Finally, I am able to release the sixth chapter of my story after all that time.****

 **I´m pretty sorry that I couldn´t keep my promise and release more frequently. Instead, I even had to slow down.**  
 **As much as I want to apologize for that, I hope you can understand it, since I had some personal matters concerning my workplace as well as my education that I had to prioritize.**  
 **Additionally, I had to find myself a new Beta, since `Love reading 3.14´ got busy with his own matters, too (If you read that: Good luck!).**  
 **Therefore, I officially introduce `ekaterina016´ as my new Beta (so don´t wonder about the small changes in my writing style).**

 **By the way, thanks a lot for those encouraging comments that kept me going.  
And just that you know: I´ll NEVER ABANDON this story; that´s a promise I´ll keep!**

 **But enough of this for now. Finally, I´m able to write the words that you all wanted to read so badly:**  
 **Enjoy the story ;)**

DISCLAIMER:  
I DON´T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO THE "AKAME GA KILL"-FRANCHISE. THE MANGA WAS WRITTEN BY TAKAHIRO AND ILLUSTRATED BY TETSUYA TASHIRO.  
THIS FANFIC HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN FOR PROFIT!  
IT MAY CONTAINS SPOILER!  
IT´LL INCLUDE BRUTAL CONSIDERED SCENES!

 ** **Chapter 6: Kill the naivety****

Tatsumi was exhausted, having ran through the forest for the whole night without resting. The darkness helped him somewhat, refilling his energy fluently, but since the sun had rose about half an hour ago, he couldn´t recharge his power anymore, resulting in each step becoming heavier than the last one. The boy needed a rest badly, _now_. **  
**

His eyes were red and swollen, but the tears had stopped hours ago. The streaks of dried tears had become icicles hanging down the boy's cheeks.  
The blood dirting his hands was similarly frozen, but with his conditions now, he paid it no heed.

He slowly stumbled to the nearest tree, where he sat down, leaning his back onto the trunk.

` _All of them were killed. Everyone, including elders, women and children._ ´  
Tatsumi stared at his bloody hands.  
` _What in this world justifys such an action? How cruel must this world be for such things to happen?´_

The boy´s expression was empty. Not a hint of sorrow could be seen in it. He had accepted that he couldn´t change what had happened. He even had accepted that _he_ was to blame too.

The only thing he couldn´t accept was that he didn´t notice what kind of monster _that woman_ was. How could he even think of _her_ as a kind person? It was true that she had treated him good, but after all the things his friends had told him about her, he should have known better. How could he let himself be deceived this easily?

Anger and resolve began growing inside the boy.

He had decided. He would extinguish all the unrighteousness sullying this world. He would train until he had the means to beat all those supressing the weak and innocent. He would not only save his friends and his village, but every other person in need too.

Slowly, Tatsumi pulled himself up against the trunk. He had no time to rest; he had to get stronger. He turned around and started walking deeper into the forest in order to test his new abilities without being noticed by anybody.

The sooner he started, the sooner he´d be ready.

 ** **Esdeath****

A new day had begun. The morning was clouded, casting the world in tones of grey and white. According to her experience, heavy snow would soon fall all over the place. Normally, the cold and stallid climate was to Esdeath's liking, reminding her of her childhood. Under these conditions, only strong people could survive longer than a few weeks on their own.

But she couldn´t enjoy it this time. Since she had woken up and stepped out of her tent, the only thing she could think about was Tatsumi. She just couldn´t stop worrying. She hoped that he´d get better fast. She loved to see him being uncomfortable around her. The thought of playing with her _lover_ made the general blush for a second. She couldn´t help but grin in anticipation.

After letting out some of her stress and anger the day before and getting some rest, she felt much better. She was optimistic that Tatsumi would soon be better too.

She had just reached the closed entrance to the medical tent when she saw the night guard captain stepping towards her to give his usual report in the morning.

"General! Nothing out of the ordinary last night."  
The captain stopped right in front of her, greeting the general with the appropriate salute.

"I´ll take it into consideration. Good work," answered Esdeath in a slightly annoyed way.  
She just wanted to get rid of the soldier to look after Tatsumi. She gave a short nod that signaled the captain that he had fulfilled his duty and could go to rest now.

 **Soldier**

The night guard captain, having being relieved of his duty, followed his superior to turn his body around. Right now, he wished for nothing more than some well-deserved rest. His watch during the night was a long and boring one, after all.

He had just made a few steps in his tent´s direction, however, when a feeling of dread stopped him cold in his tracks. Even under General Esdeath, he had never felt such a thick _anger_ and killing intent before in his life. Deciding it´d be best if he didn´t meddle in whatever caused it, he walked faster without a second thought, away from the aura pounding his back.

Another two or three steps further, and a sudden, sharp pain erupted through his right leg. Looking down in horror, he saw a sharp piece of ice having pierced through from the back of his knee to the front, causing him to fall over into the snow, crying out in pain.

He had no clue, why the general was upset with him, but in his pain-riddled mind, one thought came through loud and clear:  
His chance of survival had become impossibly small right now.

 **Esdeath**

Never before had she felt that amount of anger and sorrow at the same time in her life, not even when Tatsumi was nearly killed or when she let out her rage on the Northerners.

She stared right into the darkness inside the tent, right at the cot of her injured beloved.

But the cot was empty. There was no sign at all of Tatsumi being inside the tent; he had vanished into thin air. It seemed as if he hadn´t even been there in the first place.

Esdeath didn´t know what to think. How could an injured person, nearing death, just vanish without anyone noticing it?! Was he abducted? But who in this world would be insane enough to mess with the things that belonged her? Even that fat prime minister wouldn´t dare to do that. Did he run away? Even though this possibility seemed unlikely with his wounds, she had to consider it.

` _Nothing out of the ordinary last night._ ´  
The words of her captain echoed inside her mind. How couldn´t he notice how her claimed lover disappeared out of the tent - or much worse, the _camp_?! It was his duty to get a grip of everything that was going on inside the camp at night, and he had proven himself too weak even for such a simple task!

She turned around, emitting waves of anger into the cold air around her. She watched every last one of the captain´s steps like a predator watching its prey.

She noticed how terrified he was, seeing drops of cold sweat running down his neck as he stood completely still.

The man started to walk away from her, getting faster with each step, trying to escape his hunter. But she wouldn´t let that happen.

" _ **Weissschnabel**_ (engl.: _**White Mouth**_ )!"  
It was nothing more than a hiss, but nontheless, a small ice spike shot towards the captain, drilling through his right leg, causing him to fall over.

When the soldier let out a cry of pain, she knew he wouldn´t be able to get back up on his own anymore. Despite her rage, she had hit her target exact the way she had planned. That single icicle had torn apart some of the muscles of her target´s right leg, making it incredibly painful to put even a little weight on it.

The other soldiers stopped their morning routine, all of them scrambling around to see what's going on. Esdeath noticed their analyzing gaze washing over her and the now-screaming captain, and the realization that dawned in their eyes. Silently, they knew he'd messed up, and was only now waiting his punishment. Their stares were full of pity and fear, since none of them dared getting in her way when she was serious, no matter how strong they were.

In her mind, she wondered why should a predator care whether those weaker than it feared it or not? In fact, she loved those terrified expressions of people. They satisfied her.

She slowly stepped over to the now-kneeling captain, still leaking off her anger to the air. She would make sure to make him into another example for those who were watching.

After a few more steps, she stood right in front of the shivering captain. Her eyes were narrowed to slits when she looked right into the shivering man´s eyes.

"Didn´t you say that _**nothing**_ was out of the ordinary last night?!"  
Normally, she wouldn´t express her emotions that notably, but this time, she couldn´t help but shout at the captain. Even her cold blue eyes seemed to express madness.

"I-I´m s-sorry. B-but e-every-t-thing w-was a-al-r-right," whimpered the captain, fearing for his live without any clue about the source of her fury.

" **HOW COULD MY MATE DISAPPEAR THEN?!"**  
Esdeath didn´t even wait for her subordinate´s answer when she started to squeeze his head from both sides with her hands. She exerted more and more pressure, maximising the pain for the soldier in front of her, whose cries of agony filled the by now utterly silent surrounding.

She pressed and pressed until a loud crack, followed by a splashing sound, ended those cries. The disgusting-looking body fell over, pieces of brain and skull spilling over her hands.  
She cared not for the splatters on her normally completely clean uniform, nor did she care for the pale soldiers looking at the scene, some of the newer ones even vomitting.

"I will go after _him_ personally. You will ready yourselves for our return. We will head for the Capital when I´m back. And know this: the next of you who is to dissappoint or anger me..."  
Esdeath paused mid sentence, letting her cold gaze wander over the gathered soldiers.  
"…will have to endure a fate far worse than what you´ve seen just now."  
Even though she had returned to her usual calm voice, the general knew that her men had understood her warning.

"With his injuries, he can´t be too far. Even if someone abducted him, they won´t be able to move that fast considering his state. Shall I get you a horse, General?" asked Luke as he stepped out from the crowd.

He had only joined the crowd when she was about to liquidate the soldier. The vice commander initially didn´t know what all of this was even about, until he had seen the empty tent and heard her angry yells. He knew that there was nothing he could do to make her change her mind. There was no way the general would instruct her soldiers with the boy´s search. Being an excellent hunter herself, she would make sure to track down her prey as soon as possible.

"No, I´ll be able to move faster without a horse," replied the woman without even considering taking one.

Without another glance towards her soldiers, Esdeath leapt forward towards the outer part of the camp, leaving her men and the bloody mess behind.

She still had no idea how her beloved one was able to disappear from inside the camp without being detected, but the fastest way to hide oneself from the patrolling guards was to enter the nearby forest. It´s true that one must pass the large plain of snow she created when dealing with those damned Northerners, but since its altitude was slightly lower than the camp ground itself, it's not impossible to cross it at night, especially if the guards were being lazy and incapable like their captain.

Hopefully, she could find a hint, _any_ hints at all before the snow fell.

 **Tatsumi**

After an hour or so, Tatsumi finally reached a spot he deemed perfect to test his new abilities. It was a small clearing deep in the forest amidst big trees, serving as his impromptu test subjects. Plus, it was far enough from camp that nobody would notice the commotion.

Even if they did notice his disppearance and begun searching for him, Tatsumi was sure they wouldn't venture deep enough into the forest to notice anything. After all, considering his injuries before Kyuuketsuki healed him, nobody would assume _anyone_ could get that far away from camp in such a short amount of time. Even Esdeath should think that way, but little did he know about her searching abilities and determination to find him, especially since he felt important to her. Eventually, after a certain period of time, the search should slide off.

` _I´d better start by questioning Kyuuketsuki about my abilities.´  
_ Tatsumi knew that it would be wise to get to know more about his Teigu before he actually used it for the first time. And since he could ask its source directly, he was sure to make use of that advantage.  
"Are you awake, Kyuuketsuki?"

" _ **I´m awake,**_ " answered the booming voice inside Tatsumi´s mind.  
" _ **What do you want to know?**_ "

"I´d like to get to know more about the powers you can grant me right now and how to use them. Right now, I don´t know enough about them." _  
_Ready to receive more information about his new abilities, Tatsumi sat down. He had to find out what Kyuuketsuki meant by `control darkness in many different ways´ last time they spoke.

" _ **All right. But pay attention. It´s a bit complicated.**_ " _ **  
**_The voice in Tatsumi´s head sounded calm and factual, forcing the boy to focus his mind on the following explanation.  
" _ **Various forms of darkness exist in this world. The first that comes to mind is the darkness that´s visible to the eye. It occurs in the form of shadows, as the period of time humans call night, or as a description for a surrounding where it´s harder to see something – in caves, for example.  
But there are other forms of darkness in this world that are not visible. Those kinds of darkness occur in the form of thoughts or feelings. They are part of your daily life and are fed by negative emotions such as anger, worry, jealousy, sadness and greed. Even though you can´t see them, you should be able to recognize them by questioning a person´s actions and motives.  
Last is a form of darkness that is connected to the previously mentioned. On one hand, it´s associated with dark places, on the other hand, most people only feel negative about it; this form of darkness is what you´d call `death´.  
Additionally, there are creatures that are in some way bound to darkness: spiders, wolves, rats, bats or owls, for example.  
My powers grant you control over all those things to a certain degree. But the stronger the power, the bigger the requirement they call upon. Do you understand that, boy?**_"

Tatsumi nodded. He had already assumed that the powers Kyuuketsuki once possessed were quite impressive. If his Teigu was made from a once-feared Danger Beast, it had to be equipped with strong powers. But there were still some questions left lingering in his mind, and he was not going to let this opportunity to get some more answers go to waste.  
"What are those `requirements´?"

" _ **That depends on the kind of power you want to use.**_ " _ **  
**_Kyuuketsuki knew that some of those techniques required preparations that were rather cruel, especially after knowing the boy's strong sense of justice, but darkness's very nature demanded them. Someone who wants to control darkness _must_ confront it, withstand it, be one with it, and finally conquer it. He would do his best to give the youth all the information he needed, but the rest would be up to him. _ **  
**_" _ **A basic requirement that's urgently needed now is to increase your strength and stamina... by a lot**_ _ **.**_ _ **A Teigu burdens one's body greatly, especially, if it´s connected directly to its owner´s body. Only if the vessel is strong enough, it´ll be able to use the Teigu's full power.**_ _ **  
**_ _ **However, that's just the start.**_ _ **The only**_ _ **powers that you can use right now are**_ _`Unsterblich´_ _ **and**_ _Schattengefängnis´_ _(_ A.N.: ` _Shadow Prison´)._ _ **The latter**_ _ **gives you the possibility to attack with your shadow.**_ _ **You can meld it with the shadows of your enemies in order to bind their movement.  
**_ _ **Continuing on where I left off with physical requirement,**_ _Schattengefängnis_ _ **will consume a good amount of energy, but it seems your own amount right now is strong enough to use it. To me, it feels like... as if there's another being's power, a strong one, besides mine in your blood.**_ "  
Hearing that, Tatsumi was slightly alarmed, but he let his Teigu continue with its explanation. _ **  
**_" _ **Each of the more powerful moves requires a special kind of... preparation, if you will, depending on its form.  
The first move, called **__`Erschaffer´_ _ **(**_ A.N.: _`Creator´_ _ **), allows you to create**_ _ **any kinds of shadow according to your imagination**_ _ **. It requires, however, the consumation of shadows from as many objects you like, resulting in the objects´ disappearance.**_ _ **The number and strength of the shadows you create will depend on the amount of strength and energy you have left while using it.**_ _ **  
The second one is called**_ _`Manipulator´_ _ **. This move allows you to control living creatures that are bound to darkness in some way. But the stronger the creatures are, the more likely they´ll attack you first if they deem you too weak. Physical strength won´t be enough. You´ll have to be strong-minded too, since those creatures will be able to sense even the smallest sign of doubt or fear from you.  
Lastly, there is my trump card. It´s name is **__`Totenmesse´_ _ **(**_ A.N.: _`Requiem´_ _ **). As I told you before, you have to consume the power of living things in order to use it. You can accomplish that by consuming their flesh and blood. Even a small amount would be enough to increase your powers slightly. But you´ll only be able to use this technique to its full extent if you consume them completely. After that, you´ll be able to mimic some of their powers, but you´ll also be able to recreate and conrol the bodies of those creatures according to your will. They will still be able to use their original powers, but you must know that the number of creatures you can create at one time differs depending on your own strength. Additionally, you won´t be able to use your own body´s strength to its full extent at the same time. At the time you don´t have enough energy left anymore, they´ll disappear. You should also know that there are some ways for your enemies to kill those creatures once and for all.  
In addition to those techniques, your senses have adjusted themselves to darkness. Therefore, you´ll be able to perceive dark surroundings better than most living things.  
That´s the gist of the powers I can grant you.**_"

 _Those are... indeed very powerful._ ´ _  
_Tatsumi honestly didn't know what to say. Kyuuketsuki was powerful beyond his imagination, but only when he sacrificed his principles would he be able to use the Teigu´s full strength. To reach his goal, he needed its power, but to do so meant staining his hands in blood – most likely the blood of innocents. He was not sure whether he could actually go through or not if the time came to it, but he was determined to find out. But for now, there was only one more question concerning his powers he wanted Kyuuketsuki to answer.  
"What exactly do you mean by `living beings´?"

" _ **Humans, animals, plants. Any existence that is considered alive.**_ "  
Tatsumi couldn´t hide his delight at Kyuuketsuki´s words. There actually seemed to be a way to avoid sacrificing other humans for the greater good! However, there was no time to waste with giddiness; he needed to practice.

 **Esdeath**

The general was glad that her intuition had been right.

While crossing the mass snow-graves she had created, a small hole caught her eyes. It dug into the mass of ice and snow, with droplets of blood coloring spots around it. Those discolorations led her straight into the adjacent forest.

Any normal person would have lost the track of their prey here, but she wasn´t just an ordinary woman. She was a product of the infamous Partas clan – a northern clan consisting solely of exceptional hunters and skilled warriors; as the last remaining survivor and the most talented member, broken small clues like this were similar to a large shining billboard. Never before had she lost her prey during a hunt, and she didn´t intent for this one to be her first.

` _But still... something´s odd.´  
_ At first, she had assumed the blood was from someone strong enough to survive her rage-fuelled snow avalance. But the signs showed contradictory results, since a survivor from back then would've had to take their opportunity to sneak into the camp. The blood, on the other hand, lead to the forest, with none splashing in the direction of the military base. The captain reported nobody was caught or even seen entering the camp at night, too. But if someone had taken her mate away, that couldn´t be the case. What confused her even more was that the blood had a familiar smell to it. But if it was her mate´s blood, the splashing should have begun inside the camp, too. Either way, something was off.

` _How was it possible for him to simply disappear? With those injuries, he shouldn´t be able to move an inch, let alone get that far by himself. There´s only one explanation: someone must have helped him. The only people that would dare to do such a thing would be his friends. I´ll make sure to let them regret it!_ ´  
Focusing on her hunt again, Esdeath leapt forward, trying to catch up to her lover.

 **Clearing in the forest**

" _ **Good! You´re doing better than I expected, boy.**_ "  
Kyuuketsuki had to admit that Tatsumi was learning very fast. He hadn´t expected the boy to get the grip of melding his shadow with those of objects around him that quickly. Sure, the youth needed a few tries to focus his mind to form a strong image and meld with a tree's shadow at the edge of the clearing, but now he's gotten the gist of it.  
" _ **Right now, your shadow is connected to the tree´s. By melding your shadow with that of a human, for example, you´ll be able to bind him in place as long as your mind is stronger than his.**_ "

"You mentioned I´ll be able to attack with the created shadows. How can I prepare this technique and could I combine it with ` _Schattengefängnis_ ´?" asked Tatsumi, eager to control the full powers of his Teigu as soon as possible.

" _ **Indeed, you could combine the techniques if your stamina is strong enough. But first of all you should learn to use**_ _`Erschaffer´_ _ **.**_ "  
Kyuuketsuki was quite impressed about the boy´s will to master his new powers as fast as he could. Nonetheless, he worried about the pace the youth set; he didn´t want his partner to pass out from exhaustion. But as long as the boy seemed fine, he wouldn´t object.  
" _ **To use this technique, you need some preperation. First of all, you need to consume shadows. You can take them from any objects you want. But remember that the object whose shadow you have consumed will disappear into nothingness.  
For now, let´s try to consume this tree´s shadow. To do so, you must touch it with any part of your body and imagine its consumation as strong as possible.**_"  
The voice in Tatsumi´s head stopped until he had followed the instructions and consumed the shadow of the tree in front of him. As Kyuuketsuki had told him, the tree simply disappeared.  
" _ **Good. Now that you have consumed the shadow, it will be stored inside your body. You can use it anytime to form weapons, armor or any other object you can think of. The only thing you have to pay attention to is that those shadows won´t move on their own unless you load them with energy. Therefore, you´d have to consume power from living creatures or sacrifice some of your own power. But the second option would put quite the strain on you and could end in your death.**_ "

After Kyuuketsuki´s voice had ended, Tatsumi closed his eyes, focusing all his thoughts on the shape of a claymore. He felt a powerful wave rush through his veins, making its way towards his right hand. The boy opened his eyes to see shadows emitting from his hands, building the handle of his chosen weapon. Slowly, the form in Tatsumi´s hand grew bigger, until he held a deep black sword in his hands. He couldn´t feel any difference to holding an actual claymore. The size and weight seemed to be normal and the handling felt normal too; but would a sword made of shadows be able to cut through real objects? Tatsumi doubted it.

He stepped over to a group of trees at the edge of the clearing and stopped right in front of them. The youth encompassed the sword´s handle with both of his hands and dealt a quick slash from the right at the trees. His eyes grew wide when his sword cut through all the trees like a knife through butter.

" _ **Surprised, boy?**_ " asked the clearly amused sounding voice in Tatsumi´s head.  
" _ **The shadows are capable of more than you thought, aren´t they? But that´s only a small amount of their true power. Imagine what they are capable of if you have stored more than just one and use them for more than just a normal sword. There are nearly endless possibilities for you to use them.**_ "

"Let´s try some ranged attacks-"  
Before Tatsumi could finish his sentence, a well-known aura made the youth's blood freeze inside his veins. Even without turning around, he knew he wasn´t alone anymore, and he could feel the icy blue eyes fixed on his back. But how could that be? How was she able to find him? Enough time should have passed by now and the distance between this clearing and the camp should have been big enough, too. Nonetheless, she was here.

"Your injuries seem to be gone in some miraculous way. Didn´t you plan to stop by my tent and inform me about this?"  
Even though the woman´s voice seemed calm and sober, Tatsumi couldn´t help but notice a hint of sarcasm and venom in it.

"Why are you here, Esdeath?" asked the young boy while turning around to the blue haired woman, hiding his fear.

"Didn´t I tell you that you are mine?" responded the general, feigning obliviousness.  
"I thought that I had mentioned that fact before. But if not, I sincerely apologize."  
She didn´t even bother to hide the disappointment and anger in her voice anymore.  
"I saw some trees being felled and followed the direction in hope to find the person who I was looking for. But let´s return to the camp; now that you seem fine, we should make it within three hours. There we can talk about your healing, the cause for your absence this morning – I think you have a good one – about the person you were talking to right now and about the thing you´re holding in your hands right now. I don´t think you were talking to yourself, were you?"

"Like hell I would accompany a monster like you that killed thousands of innocent people out of anger."  
Tatsumi wouldn´t give in to this threatening woman. He knew he hadn´t even the slightest of chances to beat her; but nonetheless, he wouldn´t back down.

"So, once more, the cause for your displeasing behaviour are some weak creatures, not able to fight for their own life. I think I should change that attitude of yours when we´re back. I tried to be nice to you, but I think that isn´t working; eventually, I should try some methods I´d normally use. How about eliminating those you´d give your life for? I mean, the Northerners are eliminated already; that would only leave those friends of yours and your village."  
Tatsumi knew that she meant what she had said. Her voice sounded cold and threatening. She was ready to destroy anyone and anything in her way to get what she desired.

"I won´t let that happen!" answered Tatsumi, gripping the handle of his shadow claymore tightly.

"Try to hinder me!" replied Esdeath with a predatory grin and a cold and challenging expression in her eyes while drawing her rapier.  
"I´d really like to see how you´ll manage to stop me."

 **Sadly, that´s it for this time. I hope you liked it.**

 **Thanks for the support of my friends and ll of my readers.**

 **As always:  
** **Feel free to ask questions and tell me your opinions. Feel free to review.  
** **Feel free to send in your (OC-)requests.**

 **That being said, I´m out.**  
 **Greetings,**

 **Marcel M.**


	7. Chapter 7: Kill the resistance

****Welcome back to `A different destiny´. Sorry for the long wait this time. I hope you all spent a nice Christmas.****

 **I planned to release this chapter much earlier, but personal changes gave me quite some trouble with finding enough spare time to write.**  
 **Nonetheless, your comments kept me going. Thanks for that.**

 **I intended to release the chapter around Chrismas, but after the edit of my Beta, we both thought, that something was lacking at first.**  
 **Therefore, it´s a few days late.**

 **Concerning your questions:**  
 **1) This fanfic was mainly inspired by "Plan B" and "Bent but not broken"; therefore, you will find resemblances (to other inspiring sories as well :))**  
 **2) Kip: Right now, I can only say, that this won´t be a short. I always thought about a total of 50 chapters, but given the actual evolvement of my plot, it could get much longer.**  
 **3) Dark Reaper Ret: As I said before: "I won´t ever abandon this story, before it´s finished." I just have to put real life first (I ´d like to change that, too :)), causing me to slow down with my writing sometimes.**

 **But enough for now; enjoy the story ;)**

DISCLAIMER:  
I DON´T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO THE "AKAME GA KILL"-FRANCHISE. THE MANGA WAS WRITTEN BY TAKAHIRO AND ILLUSTRATED BY TETSUYA TASHIRO.  
THIS FANFIC HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN FOR PROFIT!  
IT MAY CONTAINS SPOILER!  
IT´LL INCLUDE BRUTAL CONSIDERED SCENES! ** **  
****

 ** **Chapter 7: Kill the resistance****

The opponents were encompassed in a total silence. The boy stared right into the mad general´s eyes, knowing he only stood a slim chance against such an exceptional fighter.

This woman lived for war and terror... No, she was an incarnation of war and terror. She was a monster feared by the strongest of this world, causing nightmares for friends and foes alike; and now, she was his enemy.

All of Tatsumi´s senses told the boy to run; but even if he somehow managed to escape, things wouldn´t turn for the better. On one hand, she´d kill all the people precious to him. On the other hand, she´d manage to track him down sooner or later.

" ** **If she was able to track you down to this isolated place, you won´t stand a chance of getting away. You´ll have to fight.**** **"  
** Kyūketsuki knew how dire the situation was for his new partner. He felt that even now, after he was lending Tatsumi a part of his enormous powers, the boy didn´t stand a chance of surviving when this woman became serious. **  
"** ** **You can either selfishly abandon your ideals and submit, or fight her. Either way, you´ll have to face the consequences.**** **"  
** He didn´t even have to read the boy´s thoughts to get his answer. He knew that there was only one option to take for his partner. Tatsumi´s bitter grin verified it. **  
"** ** **Let´s show her what we´re capable of. Show her the might of your new weapon!**** **"**

 ** **Esdeath****

The general knew that this fight was already decided. Even though her mate had proven himselfto have a lot of potential, he stood no chance against her. But she would hold back, enough to not hurt him was _hers_ , and she wasn't willing to give up on him yet. She still saw him as her soulmate. Nontheless,she'd have to teach him a lesson.

She tried to be nice and it didn't work. He couldn't blame her for what was to come; it was his own fault. Even though she didn't like the idea of breaking her lover's mind, she couldn't tolerate this weakness of his anymore.

She was more than willing to dispose of everything and everyone standing between her and Tatsumi. If that ment getting rid of the things he tried to protect, she wouldn't hesitate at all, even if he'd break as a result.

Time would heal his wounds and he would be stronger than ever before. He wouldn't have to care about anything anymore and live solely for her, and not for any of those weak insects plaguing this world. Together, they'd be on top of the chain. Even if he couldn't see it now, she knew he'd one day recognize that her view of this world was ultimately right.

Esdeath gripped the hilt of her rapier tightly with her right hand. She couldn't help but grin in anticipation. The battle which was about to start would only be the first of many sparrings against her mate. Her eyes beamed with joy as her mind switched to that of a predator, ready to overwhelm its prey.

Slowly, the general shifted her weight on her right leg, ready to counter any of her opponent's moves. Observing his movements, she knew that he was about to attack. She couldn't wait to see what he had planned.

 _`No matter. It's going to be futile in the end._ _Surprise me!´_ Esdeath thought, as her foe started running towards her, expressing all of his anger and determination with a loud battlecry.

 ** **Tatsumi****

Gripping the hilt of his materialized claymore tightly with his hands, he had already crossed half the distance towards the traces of doubt were left in his mind. He'd try to end this fight as soon as possible; otherwise, the probability of his victory would become even lower than it already was right now.

He tried to find the weakspot in the woman's posture, but even though she seemed pretty relaxed, he wasn't able to. For the first time since they met, he got to recognize her true strength. The general didn't look serious in the slightest, yet he knew, just by looking at this psychopathic woman, she'd defend any of his moves without much effort.

There was only one advantage Tatsumi could think of: she didn't know about his new abilities yet! He had only one chance to use them before that advantage would be gone, too. Therefore, he'd try an obvious move towards her, while attacking from behind with shadows. A second of carelessness from her side would be enough for the boy to achieve a victory in this unequal fight.

The youth was just about to lock his sword with hers when the general disappeared all of a sudden. But before Tatsumi was even able to register the movement, he got kicked hard in his back from behind. Without the slightest delay, the boy's body accelerated towards the opposite direction, slamming into a nearby tree, splintering it like it had been struck by lightning.

 **"** ** **Are you alright, Partner?!**** **"  
** The calm and encouraging tone in Kyūketsuki's voice was now replaced by one of worry and disbelief.

He had sensed that this woman was the strongest opponent he had met for a long time, rivaling the strength of the Danger Beasts he had fought against in the past. But he'd never have expected her to be _this_ strong. Her movement right now was too fast to follow, even for him. Truth to be told, he wasn't even sure whether he'd have avoided such a fast attack if he was in a prime condition...

Tatsumi didn't dare answer his partner´s question. Every single bone in his body was hurting, but more than that, his mind was as well. Sure, that kick was strong enough to deal a large amount of pain to him, but he was sure that Esdeath could have easily killed him if she had so desired it. He knew she was playing with him right now; playing with his resolve. She wouldn't kill him – not her possession.

"I thought you wanted to stop me."  
The general's voice confirmed his assumptions.  
"If that was the best you´ve got, you should probably give up. Otherwise, I can´t promise to go that easy on you all the time."

 **"** ** **She´s right. We don´t stand a chance like this.**** **"  
** Kyūketsuki didn't like to admit it, but there was no way of fighting head on against her. That woman's advantage when it came to fighting was far too big. **  
"** ** **I can see only one possibility. Try to stay out of her range and relay on your powers. That´s our only chance.**** **"**

Tatsumi nodded, knowing his partner was right. Even though the chance of their victory was still slim, he couldn't think of any other way to fight against this monster in his current closed his eyes, and without further ado, ignoring the observing eyes of his opponent, he started to focus. Since he couldn't beat her in a battle of power, he'd try to beat her with a battle of will...

 ** **Esdeath****

` _What is he up to?_ ´ **  
**Truth to be told, she felt rather amused by Tatsumi's attempt to attack her up front. He should have known that their difference in means of power was just too , that was what she loved about him. No matter how strong his opponents were, he wouldn't hesitate to fight them with everything he's got.

The more surprising was the change in his behaviour right now. Had he already given up? Was it that easy to break his resolve, after all? She even had gone easy on him with her kick.

It was at that moment that she noticed something odd. First, she thought that her eyes played a trick on her, but the more she focused on Tatsumi's sword, the more it seemed to blur.

` _No_ , _it doesn´t blur. It´s disappearing?!_ ´

For the first time since she became a general of the Empire, she didn't know how to react during a fight. She knew that something was off, but she didn't know the cause.

Relying on her intuition, she assumed that her mate possessed a Teigu that was connected to his strange weapon somehow.

But where did he get it? And more important: what kind of Teigu was it? She had memorised all the existing information about the Teigu, but this power was completely different from anything she had read. The Teigu had to be one of those lost during the Great Civil War, or even before that, and therefore possessing unknown abilities. And her lover had not only found it, but also bonded with it! Yet again, he had proven to be the right one for her.

She could feel the excitement running all over her body. Her eyes beamed with joy. Given enough time and some tough training by her, her mate would be able to fight her head on. That thought alone raised her mood. She'd have been even happier if it wasn't for his lack of discipline and his obsession with the weak and their fates. But she'd solve those matters too after beating him.

Still smiling, she tightened the grip around the hilt of her rapier and shifted her weight onto her right leg, ready to start the game anytime. She took in every single change in her surrounding with her well-trained senses. No matter what he was up to, she wouldn't let it surprise her.

 ** **Tatsumi****

Finally, the claymore had merged into his energy cycle again. He needed every last inch of power he could muster for his next action. If this move was to fail, he wouldn't get a second chance.

The boy opened his eyes slowly and stared right into the blue orbs of his foe. He was determined to go for broke.

The sun was already about to set behind his enemy, causing the general to cast a long shadow towards him, grazing his feet. But that was all he needed.

 **"** ** _Schattengefängnis!_** ** _"_** **  
**His words were only a whisper, but given the fact that the general's body tensed up, she seemed to have heard them nontheless. Tatsumi could tell that she was hesitating to attack him. As far as he knew her, she didn't know whether to test him or finish this fight quickly.

But she was already too late. Tatsumi could see the change in her facial expression, even if she managed to hide it in a split second. The Ice-Queen surely didn't know the feeling of being frozen to the ground herself. The boy couldn't help but feel relieved, somehow. For the first time since the beginning of this fight, he seemed to have the upper hand.

Nonetheless, there was no time to waste for him anymore. He didn't know whether he'd be able to bind the woman in place any longer. In fact, he could already feel how much energy this move required.

 **"** _ **Erschaffer!**_ ** _"_**  
Dark matter exited his body following his words, shaping itself into various arrows, shooting towards the still-immobile general.

Watching the arrows speedily closing the distance to their target, Tatsumi inadvertently closed his eyes to avoid watching the gruesome outcome. It's true she deserved what she got, but he was inherently too kind to deliberately wish someone to suffer. Those arrows would be a far more painful death than a simple, clean sword cut, but he wasn't going to make the same mistake as before and underestimate her true strength again.

Hopefully, it'd be over as soon as possible.

 **"** _ **Grauhorn!**_ ** _"_**  
The boy's eyes shot open at Esdeath's command, only to see his arrows being destroyed by a massive horn of ice shooting out of the ground high up towards the heaven. How on earth had he forgotten about her Teigu's ability?! He had seen her conjuring a giant ball of ice from thin air, yet it never passed his mind she could use her abilities defensively as well?!

Sensing his power becoming weaker and weaker, he knew that there was no time to think about that. He had to hurry and finish this _now_. But before he could even think of what to do, the ice in front of him burst into millions of small icicles, flying in every direction. Some of those sharp fragments were just too fast to dodge, pelting his skin and cutting him up. He only managed to cover his eyes, but dribblets of blood had run down his body profusely.

Suddenly, a vicious pain stabbed through his midsection as the general's knee connected clean with his stomach, sending him flying straight into another tree before he could react.

The stinging pain as he stood up informed him of his broken ribs. Through his blurry vision, he gritted his teeth, determined not to give up after just this much. Slowly, he leaned on another tree to stand as he watched his foe strutting towards him. The way her hips sway was seductive, yet he couldn't help but see it only as a predator's steps, going in for the kill.

He didn't know what to do; was there even a way to fight her? Tatsumi saw the serious expression on her face. He knew that she wouldn't underestimate him anymore, either. But he had barely enough enough strength left to stand; how should he fight her in that condition?

It didn't matter. There was no other option but to try. Running away wasn't an option; he'd rather die fighting.

Contrary to the warnings of his partner, Tatsumi used the last of his resources to materialize the claymore again. He could tell that it wasn't as solid as before due to his injuries, but it was the only thing he had left.

Ignoring his pain, he started to stagger towards his opponent, one step after another, holding his claymore with his right hand while using the left one to press his hurting ribcage.

He could see that the general's expression had changed once again. The anticipating smile was gone, replaced by emotionless flat lips. She held her rapier tightly with her right hand, ready to end this fight. The youth was sure this warmongering woman had enjoyed the fight so far, but she knew that this would be the end, too.

Without hesitating, he raised the claymore over his head and struck down at the general with every last ounce of physical strength he could muster. Over and over again, he tried to somehow manage to hit her, but he could tell that she had no problems at all deflecting his desperate slashes, almost toying with him now. His strikes were just lacking too much power.

With every single strike, Tatsumi's desperation grew. Was there no way for him to save his friends? Was there no way for him to overcome this obstacle? But how could he give up now? How could he sacrifice everything for his own good? Sure, he wanted to survive this fight; but what was the point in surviving when he would have to bear the blame for his friends' death? He wouldn't have any of it!

He began to feel that the pain was slowly starting to get the better of him. With every single strike, his consciousness nearly flew away. His slashes became even less powerful and more inaccurate, but nonetheless, he couldn't stop now.

His foe's face indicated she's had enough of this mockery of a fight. With a quick upward slash of her rapier, the general hit the boy's claymore with full force dead on. Tatsumi's eyes widened in shock and disbelief as she simply cut through his blade, dispelling the shadows and sending the boy flying back a few meters where he landed on the snowy ground once more.

 **"I'm sorry to say this, but it's over, young one."  
** Even though the youth knew that Kyūketsuki was right, he struggled to get back up; but no matter how hard he tried, his body simply hurt way too much.

Tatsumi clenched his teeth. Even though he had accomplished such a powerful weapon, the difference in strength was just too big. The boy had already known about the woman's strength way before the clash, but he had, however, hoped to strike her with one surprising blow that would finish her off.

Lying on the ground, he still wondered how she had been able to move even though he had managed to bind her in place. But it didn't even matter anymore. The fight was lost, and his friends and loved ones were doomed.

 **Esdeath**

While walking towards him, she didn't dare avert her eyes from her mate even for a second. She saw that he had used up quite an amount of stamina and was hurt badly, but she was tempted to push him even further, doubting that he had already given up.

"Is that all you've got?" The general asked, mocking.  
"I thought you wanted to stop me. Have you already abandoned those weaklings to save yourself? Are you finally convinced of my view of things? You're too weak to have your way; just bear with it and bow to mine!"

Looking down on the boy in front of her, she could see him staring back in anger and frustration. He had accepted his situation and knew that he wouldn't be able to beat her. Yet, there were traces of determination and resolve in his gaze. A moment of silence passed before her lover finally answered her, interrupted by deep breaths.

"Either you finish me now or I will do so myself later!" The boy hissed as his answer.

For the first time, Esdeath didn't know how to react to the words of a foe. She was accustomed to harsh words, pleas and insults. Considering her mood, she'd either kill them painfully or break those with strong wills through torture... but not even once had someone demanded to be killed.

What struck her even more was that her lover didn't hesitate to threaten her with his suicide. How could he dare to say that?! She wouldn't have it. She'd make her mate strong enough to stand besides her by eradicating his weaknesses. The only thing he'd need in his life was her; that fact was for sure.

"You know I won't let that happen!"  
Even though she tried to speak in a calm manner, her voice gave away traces of insecurity. Esdeath knew that she wouldn't be able to prevent the boy from commiting suicide without locking him away from the world. But by doing this, she wouldn't be able to form him into her ideal partner either.

"One moment of distraction will be sufficient," replied the boy with his determined voice.  
"Even the Empire's strongest won't be able to stop me from that. Sure, there are some ways, but they'd shatter your plans for my future too. No matter how you look at it, it's better if you finish this now."

The general was at a loss of words. The grip around the hilt of her rapier tightened. She knew that the youth was right, but she didn't know how to react. Slowly, she led the tip of her rapier above the boy's head, who was anticipating the final blow with closed eyes.

She didn't want to do it, but she knew that it'd be even harder for her if she spared him now and he'd kill himself later. In order to regain her mental strength and her cold-blooded attitude, she had to finish him herself. But for the very first time, the Ice-Queen didn't know whether she was strong enough.

Her whole body trembled as the tip of her weapon drew closer to the boy's face. Normally, she'd have been able to finish anyone in his position off with a fast and clean stab through the skull, but not this time. The closer her rapier approached his head, the slower it got and the more it shook.

This wasn't her! How was this boy able to influence her in such a strong way within such a small amount of time? She didn't know that herself. The only thing she knew was that she felt fear, an emotion she thought she'd never feel in her life.

It was at that moment the general made a decision. She closed her eyes, using all of her willpower to get her body to calm down. Opening them again, she stared down at the boy void of emotions. Then she brought down her rapier...

 **Tatsumi**

He didn't want to face the end with his eyes wide open. Ashamed of his own inability, he lay on the ground and thought about those he had disappointed. Even though his resolution had been strong, his body simply was too weak – even with the additional power of his Teigu.

Tatsumi knew that the general's rapier would pierce him any second, but he was repared for it. It was better that way – better so he wouldn't have to see his friends to suffer a gruesome fate. He had done everything in his power, but compared to her level of strength, he had to admit he hadn't stood even the slightest chance.

 **"I truly am sorry that it's ending this way."**  
For the first time, Kyūketsuki's voice didn't sound threatening or mighty at all. The former Beast wasn't able to hide the sadness in it, even though the words were spoken in a calm manner.  
 **"Finally, I have been able to get to meet a fitting partner, yet I couldn't grant him the power he needed to fight for his resolve. If only I would have been able to make you even stronger..."**

` _It's not your fault._ ´  
He knew that Kyūketsuki meant his words, but the one at fault was him, not his partner. He couldn't help but think about the future of his Teigu. Would someone be able to use it or will it be useless for decades again? He hoped for the former.

Feeling his end drawing nearer, Tatsumi's thoughts wandered to all his friends and his partner one last time. Being sure that he wouldn't see them again, he bid farewell inside his mind, wishing all of them the best of luck, even tough he doubted their chances against that demon.

Then he felt the rapier coming down...

 **Esdeath**

The grip around the hilt of her rapier loosened, and the inner struggle she had to go through until moments ago had stopped. It wasn't an option for her to display such an amount of weakness; therefore, she had made her decision and done what she had to do.

After pulling out her rapier and putting it in its sheath, she bent down to the motionless body on the floor and grapped it by the collar of its uniform. It wasn't much of an effort for her to lift the limp body until she could directly stare at her defeated opponents face.

She stared right into the wide opened eyes of her mate. The surprise in his eyes was clearly visible, but that didn't matter for her at the moment. She wouldn't let him have his way; he was hers and there was no way for him to change that fact. She'd make that clear to the boy.

"Why aren't you finishing this already?" Her lover asked in a low voice, but clearly perplexed. His emerald-green eyes were trying to catch traces of emotion in hers, but she wouldn't show any. She couldn't afford to act weak anymore.

"I won't lose to you!"  
The general's voice sounded cold and determined. She wasn't talking to him like before, even though she would have liked to. The youth had to understand that the only option for him was to submit. She wouldn't give him a chance to change her ideology.  
"You won't get to choose your fate!"

Those words seemed to strike a nerve. Even tough the boy looked too exhausted to fight, he clasped her arm with his hands and tried to loosen her grip on his collar. But in his current state, her lover's efforts didn't make her flinch the slightest. She simply continued staring right into his eyes, until he recognized the futility of his struggle.

"I will spare your friends' lives," said the general with a cold and threatening voice.  
"Therefore, you will accompany me to the Capital and obey me without opposition. I'll train you and make you my equal; you will change your mind sooner or later. As long as you do as I say, nothing will happen to your friends, but if you should try disobey me or run from me again, I will catch you and grant them the worst death possible right in front of your eyes. Do you understand?!"

She could tell that the boy was unsure of what to do just by looking in his eyes. No matter how hard he tried to hide it, she could see the traces of an internal struggle in his eyes. He didn't want to bend to her will, but if he really wanted to save his friends, he had to.

It was the fact that he didn't just submit to her will she liked about him, yet it was also this fact that challenged her longing for power in the form of absolute control. When the boy's eyes became slightly duller, she knew that he had accepted her victory to its full extent. His slight nod only confirmed that he had finally submitted.

It was, however, not a complete victory for her, even though Esdeath didn't want to admit it. If she wanted to have her mate around, she had to spare all those weak insects around him... for now. But she wouldn't give in for a second time, no matter what would happen.

"We'll head back to the camp now. Considering your state, we'll need about two or three days."  
While speaking to the boy, she slowly lowered her arm until his feet touched the ground. Before releasing him from her grip, the general made sure that he was able to stand by himself.

Being assured of that, she turned around and started to head towards the direction of the camp, having the boy walk in front of her with his head hanging low. Esdeath could tell that he was in great pain, but she wouldn´t help him this time even though she wanted to. He had to learn his lesson. Considering his attitude, she was sure that he'd manage it during their way back, too, considering that he had somehow achieved his goal.

It urged her to find out about the youth's new Teigu, but she knew that she had no need at all to press that matter. She would wait until the boy had collected himself. For now, she was just rejoicing being with him again, even though his attitude towards her wasn't the same as before. Nonetheless, she knew that fact would change again soon enough, too.

 **Tatsumi**

He didn't like that he had to give in to her demand at all, but what could he do instead? If he wanted to save those dear to him, he had no other option but to obey her; at least until he grew stronger than her one day.

 **"Are you sure that your decision will change the fate of your friends?"**  
Tatsumi noticed traces of surprise in his partner's voice. Surely, the former Danger Beast had not thought about the possibility of such an outcome, too. _ **  
**_ **"I am not too sure whether to trust her words or not. She'd be able to kill them on a whim!"**

"I vowed to protect them at any cost. Not only to myself, but also to my deceased friends. I won't act selfish and sacrifice them for my belief. Furthermore, such a decision would go against our deal! I'll try anything to reach my goal. There is no other possibility but to trust her this time."  
Even though Tatsumi couldn't deny Kyūketsuki's argument, he knew that this was his only option right now.

 **"I seem to have made the right decision back then,"** responded the voice in rather proud tone.  
 **"I won't let you down. We'll get stronger together and make your dream come true. No matter the hardships we have to overcome, there will be nothing and nobody to stop us from doing that. Given the wounds you just received, every step of you must hurt pretty bad. Since the sun is about to set, my powers will soon start to work. Since your body has to restore lots of energy too, I assume that one night won't be enough to complete the process as long as you don't rest."**

"I'll see what I can do. And thank you for everything."  
The words of his partner had finally lifted Tatsumi's spirit somewhat. He wouldn't have to endure this alone. There would always be someone beside him, giving him advice and granting him strength. He wouldn't let Kyūketsuki's expectations down.

Tatsumi was sure that he would be able to continue walking through the night somehow, but on the other hand he knew his partner was right. Every bone in his body hurt due to the fight; probably, it'd be better for him to get some rest.

Looking around for some sort of shelter for the night, the boy spotted a nearby cave. There wouldn't be a place as perfect as this for the night. The cave was big enough for at least four people and could protect them from snow and wind. It would most likely be very cold during the night, but stumbling though the forest wouldn't keep them any warmer.

"What is it?"  
The female voice coming from behind him snapped the boy out of his thoughts. Thinking about the cave as a shelter, he hadn't noticed that he had been becoming slower with every step until he had come to a halt finally.

"Even if I'd like to go on, I need some rest."  
Tatsumi knew that he had to tell the truth without giving away any hints about his abilities. Lying wasn't an option; he was convinced that this devilish woman would be able to see through him.  
"I was thinking about using that cave as a shelter," continued the boy while pointing towards it.

"Fine!"  
It surprised the boy that the general answered without any delay. He had assumed that it would need quite some time to convince her. On the other site, he was happy it was that easy for him. Without wasting another thought about this matter, he started to head towards the cave, followed by the Ice-Queen.

 **That´s it for this time. I hope you liked it.**

 **Thanks for the support of my friends and ll of my readers.**

 **As always:  
** **Feel free to ask questions and tell me your opinions. Feel free to review.  
** **Feel free to send in your (OC-)requests.**

 **That being said, I wish all of you a good start in 2018 and that the next year will be better than the last.**  
 **Greetings,**

 **Marcel M.**


	8. Chapter 8: Kill the way back

****Finally, after all this time, I´m back with a new chapter.****

 **HNY, even if it´s a bit late.**

 **First things first: Why did it take me that long?**  
 **It´s pretty easy: I have to write important exams every half a year; being forced to prepare for them and dealing with their aftermath (absence from my part-time job), I had barely enough time to write anything. In addition to that, I had to deal with technical issues (otherwise I´d have released this chapter about 2 weeks earlier).**

 **Nonethless, I´m sorry that it took me that long. To compensate you for that period of time, I thought of a small competition for you to take part in. I´ll give away the details AFTER the chapter.**

 **Concerning your questions:**

 **Eb-8: Thanks to him, I noticed, that I created some misunderstandings in the last chapters.**  
 **1\. Tatsumi isn´t able to consume shadows to heal himself willingly. This ability works without him being able to control it.**  
 **2\. He can only absorb shadows of objects that are weaker than him. Therefore it´s impossible to absorbe e.g. Esdeath´s shadow until she has been weakened enough.**

 **Sup: Honestly, I don´t know at all, where you figured his story to be a crossover with "One Punch Man". Any similarities are coincidentially, for I have never watched that show. Either you mixed up two different stories, or you wanted to troll a bit. Nonetheless, thanks for the hearty laugh ;)**

 **Then there´s one last thing:**  
 **I got quite some criticism that my last chapter took too long and was too short.**  
 **So for one last time: Real life is more important. I do this in my free time without any compensation except the fun and your own enjoyment. Therefore, I think that you´ll have to deal with that.**  
 **Furthermore, I have no problem with constructive criticism, but don´t just write: "This is shit!"  
It´s your opinion and I can accept that; but it doesn´t help me in any way. If you don´t like the story, don´t read it.**

DISCLAIMER:  
I DON´T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO THE "AKAME GA KILL"-FRANCHISE. THE MANGA WAS WRITTEN BY TAKAHIRO AND ILLUSTRATED BY TETSUYA TASHIRO.  
THIS FANFIC HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN FOR PROFIT!  
IT MAY CONTAINS SPOILER!  
IT´LL INCLUDE BRUTAL CONSIDERED SCENES!

 ** **Chapter 8: Kill the way back****

The cave was just big enough for the two of them to feel comfortable. Truth to be told, Esdeath would have liked it better if it was even narrower in there, so that her beloved one wouldn´t have a chance of avoiding her;but she knew that it would be best not to rush things.

"Aren´t you hungry?"  
Tatsumi hadn't been able to eat for days; she was sure about that. Nonetheless, he didn´t show any signs of starvation at all, making her wary. He wasn´t a seasoned warrior such as herself; where should he have learned to control his body to the extent of suppressing its basic cravings?

"Not at all," answered the boy in a monotonous voice.

"Fine."  
Esdeath wouldn´t press that matter any further. She had no intention of starting an argument about his state of health right now, since it didn´t seem to be that bad.  
"Since I´m not tired myself, I´ll keep watch during the night. You should get some sleep."

Giving a small nod in response, Tatsumi made himself comfortable, leaning his back against the cave´s wall while sitting on the ground. The cold didn´t bother him in any way; he was used to worse than that. After he made sure that the general seemed to lack the intention to close the distance between the two of them, he slowly closed his eyes, drifting off into a deep slumber.

 ** **Esdeath****

She could barely fight the desire to get closer to her mate. Seeing him sleeping so defenselessly like that made her want to cuddle with him, pressing her voluptous body against his young skin. The general desired nothing more but to start their relationship anew, but she knew that nothing good would come from that.

Surely, Tatsumi would sooner or later submit to her desires, but right now his inner wounds were too deep. Esdeath was aware of her lover´s lack of trust, even though she couldn´t comprehend the reason behind it. Nonetheless, it would be easy for her to get what she wanted, but she was aware that this could lead to her breaking the boy, once and for all. Therefore, she would just sit tight for now.

Fighting her innermost desires, Esdeath simply observed the sleeping youth from the other side of the cave. For the first time since she had found him earlier that day, his mind seemed to be completely at peace.

Seeing him like this, a warmth spread throughout the general´s body that she hadn´t known before, but on the same time, she felt her heart aching, causing her to panic somewhat. She wasn´t accustomed to experience such weakness herself, yet she couldn´t do anything about it, even though she knew the exact cause. Since she had met Tatsumi, all of her actions were driven by her longing for him. He was the cause that she wasn´t able to act as strong as before. Nonetheless, she wasn´t able to eradicate him. The simple thought of killing him made her feel uncomfortable.

It was by then she realized that her weakness wasn´t Tatsumi. Bothering with such irrelevant thoughts was her weakness. Why should she even think about killing the boy? There was no necissity to do so.

She would form him into her ideal partner. He was the only person in this world with enough potential to be her equal; she was sure of that. There was no reason to worry about breaking him. If he shouldn´t be able to fulfill her expectations in the future, it would only prove her intuition wrong and make the boy disposable, nothing more than an additional pet to her collection.

But her intuiton never had been wrong before; not even once.

She just had to make sure that he´d stop resisting her with such an amount of stubbornness, if she wanted him to take her advice. That way, he would get stronger in no time.

Shifting her focus back on the sleeping boy, Esdeath made herself more comfortable on her side of the cave. Aware of everything around her, the general closed her eyes, too. Nothing would dare to get close to the cave; her presence should be terrifying enough to prevent that. And even if someone or something would try, her senses were honed enough to alert her immediately.

 ** **The next morning****

His eyes were still closed when a tempting fragrance ascended his nose. It was true that he hadn´t felt hungry at all the evening before, but after a good night´s sleep, his mind had calmed down and his urges had taken over.

The boy opened his eyes slowly. After he had accustomed to the morning sun, shining into the cave, he was surprised by a sight he hadn´t expected. Right in the middle of the cave, a small fire had been lit. Two big slices of meat were impaled on wooden branches, sticking in the frozen ground.

Under the spell of the grilled meat in front of him, Tatsumi had forgotten about his company completely. He only started to remember his circumstances when someone grabbed one of the branches and started to eat one of the slices.

"Finally awake?"  
The general asked rhetorically while glancing at the boy for a split second, before shifting her attention back to her slice of meat.  
"We´ll continue our way after I have finished eating, then."

"Where did you get the meat?"  
The boy asked, not paying his full attention to her words. His urge for something to satisfy his hunger was just too big, and the meat smelled just too good, for him to ignore it.

"I went out on a hunt while you were soundly asleep. Don´t worry, I made sure that no danger lured within the woods beforehand," stated the general without spending a single glance at Tatsumi.  
"But why would you even care about that? You did, after all, tell me that you weren´t hungry at all yesterday. Or could it be that this has changed?"

To that question, Tatsumi failed to find the words to answer. Her behavior could be said to have turned the opposite direction from her early interactions with him; namely, her sexual and mental obsession for him had been replaced by… ignorance? Normally, the general would pine for his attention and get on his good side.

Did his rebellion cause her to lose interest in him? But if so, why hadn´t she killed him off already, like she did to countless others?

"No; I´m still not hungry," he stubbornly stated.  
Never before in his life had he tried this hard to deny his basic urges. Raised in a frontier village, he was taught since he was a baby to be efficient with his life, and that included eating whenever there would be a chance.

However, he didn´t intend to let the general have her way with him. Did she think she could bribe him with food, torturing him this way and forcing him to submit using subtler ways? No!

The woman on the opposite site of the tent just shrugged, accepting her proclaimed lover´s answer without feeling the need to ask for a second time. She turned her attention back to her breakfast, enjoying it to its fullest, deliberately making loud slurping noises and appreciative hums from time to time.

Tatsumi couldn´t determine any expression on the general´s face that could give him a clue about what she was trying to accomplish with that change in her attitude towards him. But before he was even able to ponder about that any more, a loud grumble broke the silence inside the cave.

Finally, his body had betrayed the boy´s mind. The temptations in front of the young male were just too big for his stomach to not show any reaction. The youth had tried to resist as much as possible, but he couldn´t deny the truth any longer. His body craved for nourishment, and the fragrant grilled meat within his reach made it simply impossible to hide that fact.

"Not hungry at all, huh?"  
The female general asked mockingly, a sneer plastered on her face. Tatsumi could clearly see it, even though her eyes were still focused on her slice of grilled flesh.

At that point a realization hit the boy, finally. _That woman_ had simply decided to try another kind of approach towards himself since he hadn´t shown much of a reaction towards her attempts to get closer to him the day earlier; and it had paid off.

Even though it bothered him, Tatsumi knew that he couldn´t deny her this small victory anymore. There was no point in hiding his urges any longer, since both of them already knew the whole truth.

"Just a bit… maybe," responded the boy in a lowered voice.

The young man couldn´t help but avert his gaze from the general sitting opposite to him, making her success even more obvious.

"I wouldn´t mind sharing."  
The matter-of-factly voice made the boy looking towards her again, just to see that her grin had gotten even bigger than before, like a predator toying with its prey.  
"But almost nothing in life is for free."

Her voice was an irresistible honey, and she started to expand her presence across the cave, causing Tatsumi to shiver, though not from the cold. Unbeknownst to the both of them, it was a bestial technique to spread mating pheromones to attract the opposite sex. Just how Esdeath managed to do so instinctively was a mystery.

That statement got the boy´s full attention. He couldn´t help but narrow his eyes in suspicion. What could _that woman_ possibly ask for? There were so many possibilities, and most of them weren´t to the youth´s likeness. Wary about the consequences, the boy chose his next words wisely.

"And what exactly would be the price I´d have to pay?"  
Tatsumi tried his best, yet he couldn´t manage to hide the uneasiness from his voice completely.

"Oh, my dear Tatsumi; you don´t have to be worried. The price isn´t much."  
A small chuckle escaped Esdeath´s lips as her eyes locked with his own once more. The youth could tell that she enjoyed his uncertainty; but nonetheless, he wouldn´t have assumed what came next.  
"Take off your shirt!"

The general´s demand was met by a gasp when the boy´s face lightened up, bright red, making her giggle on his flabbergasted expression. Every attempt of him trying to speak only made him bring forth stuttering sounds that couldn´t be identified as words at all. The observation that the woman seemed completely unfazed by such a bold demand didn´t help his condition at all either. On the contrary, it only increased his embarrassment even further.

"W-w-w-w-what?!"  
Still blushing, Tatsumi finally managed to calm down somewhat. Nonetheless, he wasn´t able to hide his flustered state at all, making the general´s grin widen even more. The boy knew that she simply loved to see him in that state, making him wonder if she had just intended to create this embarrassing situation right from the start.  
"W-why s-should I d-do this?"

"To check up on your wounds, of course. Why else?"  
Given the general´s amused expression, Tatsumi berated himself for falling into the general´s verbal trap, unsettling him even more. Because of his lack of experience, he had no chance to put on a dignified face to cover his steadily-growing embarrassment in any way.

Unnoticed by the youth, signs of deep longing flashed in the eyes of the older woman as she toyed with her future mate to her heart´s content. They were simply too well hidden for the inexperienced boy. But knowing that the time still wasn´t ripe, she repressed any _further_ thoughts before they could take control over her actions. She wouldn´t give in to her desires; at least, not for now.

"T-that´s not necessary."  
The general was brought out of her senses when her beloved started to speak again. Seemingly, he had calmed down somewhat during her distraction of thoughts.

"And why wouldn´t it be, hmm…? After all, I made sure not to go too easy on you yesterday. And even if you´d be despising my actions, you should be wise enough to get your wounds checked as fast as possible."  
Growing interested in the boy´s response, Esdeath narrowed her eyes. What other cause could he have to reject her offer of checking his wounds? The only answer imaginable was it had to do something with his new Teigu and she wouldn´t let slip a chance to learn about his new abilities. Thinking about his new gained strength, the general couldn´t help but grin in anticipation of his answer.

` _Hell, there´s no point in trying to hide it. She´ll find out sooner or later._ ´  
Tatsumi knew he stood no chance in deceiving the general. The only thing the youngster could do was to tell her the basic information about his new abilities.  
` _But it shouldn´t hurt to hide a fact or two. Some secrets could be very helpful later on.´_

"It´s not necessary, because my wounds are already healed."  
Looking at the general, the boy noticed that he had her full attention. Therefore, he took a deep breath before continuing his explanation.  
"Somehow, I´ve ended up in the possession of a Teigu while being unconscious after my fight with Numa Seika. Since then, I was capable of controlling darkness in various ways. Apparently, my body is able to consume particles of darkness to heal itself. But it seems this ability isn´t controllable by the Teigu´s wielder; the only condition one has to meet so it starts working by itself is that one has to be in a dark surrounding."

"That explains how you were able to get out of the camp by yourself."  
Putting one and one together, Esdeath couldn´t help but interrupt the boy in excitement.

She could see the boy shuddered as a predatory grin exposed her canines. That ability of his Teigu would serve her very well in the future. If it allowed him to deal even better with her harsh but necessary training sessions, then it could be one very special Teigu indeed. Yet, there were more pressing matters for her to question him about.

"But I´m more interested in the abilities you used in your fight against me. What about that claymore you used? And more importantly: who were you talking to back then?"  
Ignoring the boy, whose face clearly showed his feelings of uneasiness, the general continued to try gathering information about their last fight which would grant her a better understanding of her mate´s new weapon.

` _Damn!_ ´  
Tatsumi´s eyes widened in shock and disappointment when his hopes of Esdeath forgetting _that_ particular detail of him talking to Kyūketsuki were shattered. Initially, he had planned to hide the fact his Teigu was intelligent, much less being able to freely converse with him.

"That claymore was created out of shadows I consumed beforehand," stated the boy matter-of-factly. He knew that he had to keep his composure if he didn´t want to lose every last possible advantage.  
"When you found me, I was getting an advice from the Danger Beast, granting my weapon its powers."

` _So he´s actually able to communicate with his Teigu, huh?_ ´  
That information surprised the general quite a lot, even though she didn´t show it to him. It wasn´t common for those weapons to communicate with their wielder. Truth to be told, there was only one known exception that had occurred quite some time before: with her own Teigu, **_Demon's Extract_**. Of course, particularly powerful ones from the first generations tended to 'imprint' their will onto their wielders, giving them pseudo-telepathy, but at most, they were only able to convey simple emotions, not giving a full-bore advice like an old master.

` _What a fascinating Teigu. What power!_ ´  
A beaming smile, different from her previous predatory one, spread across her face, wide enough to be impossible to miss for Tatsumi. It was an expression last seen in her childhood, when she hunted and laughed and joked around with her father: a smile of pure, childish excitement.

The boy, truly, was her fated partner. No matter how much he denied it, both of them belonged together. The simple fact that fate gave him such an exceptional Teigu as a match for her own was the only proof she needed, and the only solid one she´d consider. Only someone truly strong could´ve achieved such a feat, not one who´s merely lucky.

Finally, her days of loneliness at the peak of martial prowess were coming to an end.

"That´s quite interesting. Given your Teigu is able to intelligently teach you its best tricks, I expect your strength will increase exponentially in a short time. Even I can´t imagine how strong you´ll get, if my teachings are added to its own."  
The general´s smile didn´t lessen for even a second when she predicted her lover´s protruding future.

\- Thump.

 _`J-Just now… w-what was that...?_ ´Tatsumi wondered.

His heart just skipped a beat when Esdeath smiled. Yes, a person who slaughtered thousands of people in the most agonizing ways possible without batting an eyelid. Yes, a _monster_ capable of obliterating whole armies by herself. Yes, a woman who´s shown no sympathy, nor any redeeming human qualities to those standing in her way, innocent or not.

Exactly this person, called _`Ice Queen´_ , was sitting right in front of him, still smiling in a well known fashion.

That smile… had no relation whatsoever to his description of her 'career' earlier. It was the simple smile of a… a woman. Just that. Like how Sayo smiled in her childhood, expressing a happiness which captured his heart even until this day.

The feeling he buried throughout his childhood was now blooming… for Esdeath. With just a smile.

No, objectively thinking, this must´ve been just his bodily instincts acting up due to his current condition, like his stomach earlier. There was no way he could be attracted to her, now he had seen her true nature, right?

Right?

Normally, he would only feel hate and disdain towards such a person, but looking at her smiling face triggered uncomfortable feelings inside his heart, those he couldn´t explain. This woman was supposed to be his nemesis, the person he had to beat one day to achieve his goal. Yet, all those bad feelings were wiped out the moment he saw her genuine smile.

` _Is she really a bad person_ _?_ ´  
Tatsumi tried to remember every last one of their encounters. There was no doubt she had only treated him with care and didn´t even harm him once, except for the fight, resulting from his own antagonism towards her.  
` _I don´t know what to think of her! It´s true that she threatened me, but then again, she refused to kill me back then. Could it be that this sick world formed her into the person she is today? Could it be that there is a small possibility to change her, or pull out the buried good inside of her_ _?_ ´

A warm piece of meat brought him out of his thoughts. Fumbling to catch it, he looked towards the general once again, but he noticed she had returned her attention back onto her own breakfast, and not towards him.

Feeling the grease flowing down from the fat cap of the meat between his fingers, he carefully took a sniff out of the meat. There was a chance it could be a Danger Beast´s meat, and although proper preparation could make some species safe to eat, he doubted a normal human being could stomach Esdeath´s meals.

Yes, in his mind, she had inadvertently turned into a savage who regularly ate human meat.

"That´ll do, for now," the general stated in between bites, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.  
"Your explanation is satisfactory. We´ll talk more about it another time. You should eat to regain your strength for now. When you´re finished, we´ll head back to camp. Although I won´t tolerate further insubordination, understand?"  
Seeing the glint in her eyes, Tatsumi knew that he´d better not ignore Esdeath´s warning.

"Thanks."  
Tatsumi barely managed to mutter that word, as the hunger overcame him again.

The blue-haired woman shivered pleasurably at the casual response, smiling once again.

 ** **A few minutes later****

Since Tatsumi had nothing to eat for a few days, he wasn´t able to apply what little table manners Sayo had drilled into him when they were preparing to go to the Capital. In just a short amount of time, he practically inhaled the meat and temporarily satisfied his hunger for the moment.

Leaving the cave, somehow, his steps were much lighter than before, a complete contrast to yesterday. The tension between him and Esdeath after the fight had dissipated, making it possible for him to actually start enjoying the scenery, instead of having to constantly scan it for an advantage.

It seemed it started snowing last night, as the white blanket covered the fig trees around them, reminding him of his home village. The snow beneath their feet crunched with every step they took, imprinting their prints on its surface.

Inhaling the cold air, Tatsumi started to stretch his arms under the enjoyable sunshine, when suddenly something cold hit him square in the back. Wincing from the cold trickling down his neck, the boy turned around, just in time for a second snowball to hit him right in his face.

Wiping the cold snow out of his face, the youth stared right at the blue haired woman in confusion. Humming a small merry tone, the general only gave him a questioning look while walking on with her hands clasped behind her back. Grunting, and slightly annoyed, the boy turned around again, trying to ignore the innocently-acting beauty and her little games.

` _There´s no way I´ll-_ ´  
Tatsumi´s thoughts were instantly interrupted as another snowball hit his head from behind, making him stop in his tracks. Clenching both of his fists at his sides, the youth sighed loudly, waiting for another one of those cold balls to hit him. But when nothing happened, he simply continued his way once more.

` _Maybe she´s got enough._ ´  
He had barely finished his thoughts when he felt the impact of another snowball, ending his patience. He wouldn´t stand it any longer.

In a split second, Tatsumi darted to the right, staring back at Esdeath with a challenging smile. He was sure that she wouldn´t let slip a chance to compete with him. Running at full speed while looking back from time to time, he tried his best to avoid crushing into any trees, somehow managing it, although it was pretty close sometimes.

At first, he was able to keep her in his field of vision, leisurely following him along his escape path, but after only two minutes of flat-out sprinting, her presence had disappeared from behind him. Knowing he didn´t have much time to plan his little revenge, he launched his foot onto the bark of the largest and thickest fir tree he could recognize and climbed up out of sight from anyone heading this way.

He immediately ducked behind a particularly thick branch and its set of leaves as a silhouette of a person came into sight. Watching the form´s ample breasts and wide, swaying hips, he could instantly tell it must´ve been the blue-haired beauty, scanning each tree for her prey. Luckily, it seemed he had hidden well enough for her to miss him at this distance.

Ever so slowly, the general edged closer to his tree, smoothly craning her neck left and right to scan her surroundings. Tatsumi dared not to move, and instead lowered his breathing tempo to erase every possible noise and presence he could emit. Patiently waiting, he watched every single one of her steps in agony as she was still too far for him to pounce.

However, he couldn´t risk waiting any longer, either. If she got closer than this, her talent and experience would be more than enough to sniff him out, even though he tried his best to erase his presence. Not willing to take that risk, despite this chase´s playful nature, he created three sharp picks from the remaining shadow he had stored, and sent them flying into the tree the general had just passed.

The general noticed his projectiles too late to react in any way. She was barely able to look upwards when a rather big amount of snow, being detached from the branches above her by the impact of her lover´s shadows into the tree, fell upon her, forming a massive pile of snow.

"I got you!"  
The youth couldn´t help but scream out loud out of his feeling of elation. He knew such a thing wouldn´t harm _that woman_ in any possible way; nonetheless, he was proud of being able to achieve such a small victory.

"Are you sure about that?"  
A rather amused sounding voice spoke up from right behind him.

Turning around in surprise, Tatsumi´s eyes widened in disbelief as he looked right into two familiar blue orbs glinting with joy. Before he could react, Esdeath´s delicate-looking right hand simply gave his shoulder a small tap, making him lose his precious balance on the tree.

The boy tried to get a hold of the branch he had been sitting on the whole time, but he failed. Still looking in disbelief at the person that had pushed him just a moment ago, he fell right into the snow beneath his hideout back-first, sinking a fair way into it.

He was still trying to comprehend what had happened as a petite hand grabbed him by his collar, pulled him out of the snow and made him stand on his own two feet.

"What… How… You… I..."  
Trying to get to understand what was going on, Tatsumi couldn´t help but stutter in irritation, much to Esdeath´s amusement.

"Oh, it was a nice try."  
The general interrupted him in an almost mocking tone, while brushing off the remaining snow from his uniform.  
"But there were two major disadvantages for you right from the start. Firstly, I have been raised by a tribe of hunters from the northern lands, making me a superb hunter, especially among snowy plains. Secondly, I am experienced enough with my Teigu to have some aces up my sleeves."

"But I´m sure that the pile buried you. There shouldn´t have been a way to evade it, not even for you!" muttered the still confused boy.

"There is," replied the general playfully yet seriously.  
"How about another game? I´ll give you time to guess the ways I used my abilities. The time you have will be until we reach the encampment."  
She smiled seductively, knowing Tatsumi had no way to decline her offer.  
"The reward is simple: one unconditional wish, within my capabilities, of course. But, if you fail…"

Pausing mid-sentence to observe her clearly uncomfortable lover, she licked her lips, showcasing their tempting moisture to the prepubescent boy.  
"... you´ll have to fulfill one wish of mine."

Tatsumi gulped. Big.

He was practically given the chance to get one of the most influential people of the Empire, and most likely the strongest, into his debt. There wass an infinite amount of possibilities and circumstances where this very reward would be the difference between life and death, or simply to advance his dreams.

However, precisely because of the weight of such promise, his failure would doom him to a similar amount of pain. After all, his knowledge of her abilities´ details neared zero. All he knew was she could manipulate `ice´. The best thing he could do was guess, based on his experience with her and what he had seen and felt already.

Or would she even keep her promise? She could sulk and deny any responsibility, forcing her wishes upon him either way.

Once again, the fear of failing triggered a pessimistic thought.

` _What would she demand from me?_ ´  
The thought alone sent a shiver up his spine. He wasn´t too sure whether it´d be morally acceptable for him or not. What if she demanded of him to torture those she didn´t deem worthy or to execute an innocent in cold blood?

But could he even afford to waste this opportunity? The boy´s mind swayed back and forth.

Finally taking in a deep breath, Tatsumi had made his decision. He simply had to take the risk, even if it meant playing against the odds.

"Deal!"  
Accepting her offer, Tatsumi looked straight into Esdeath´s eyes, without showing any signs of uncertainty.

"Perfect!" replied the woman in a merry tone. She simply loved to play these kind of games.

…especially to savor the look of despair on her opponent´s face. Even normal folks´ faces looked delectable; how arousing would Tatsumi´s expression be?  
"Let´s continue our way, then."

 **Some time later**

` _Damn it! I still don´t have a single clue!_ _´  
_ Tatsumi nearly became exasperated with the task Esdeath had given him.

The boy had been pondering about her Teigu´s abilities all the time since they started to head towards the camp again. Recalling the things he had seen her do in the past days, he still hadn´t made any progress further than `she can control ice´.

He still wasn´t able to comprehend the way she had been deceiving him. Every idea that came into his mind seemed impossible to be done, even for her. Right now, he was at a complete loss.

There was only one way he could think of to avoid it.

" _ **You called me? I already got the gist of your situation by reading your thoughts. But how can I help you, Partner?"  
**_ An all-too-familiar deep voice crept into the boy´s mind, ready to answer any questions that would occur.

 _`I am pretty sure that she´s able to form and control ice with her Teigu. But I just don´t get it; how had she been able to appear right behind me? Do you have any ideas?´  
_ Considering Kyūketsuki´s age, Tatsumi hoped that the former Danger Beast would have some more knowledge about other Teigus´ abilities. It was perfectly possible his partner could even propose a potential solution.

 **" _ **Did you ever consider that it wasn´t her who was hit by the snow?"  
**_** The beast asked thoughtfully.

` _Why would there be another person than us this far out in the Northern woods?_ ´  
His partner´s question just caused Tatsumi to feel even more irritated. He could already feel a slight headache rearing its ugly head.

 **" _ **That´s not what I meant!**_ **"**** **  
**His companion replied with a deep sigh, causing Tatsumi to frown. **  
** ** **"**** _ ** **Recall your memories of earlier! I noticed that the only thing you were able to make out back then was her silhouette. You didn´t see any of her defining features, did you?****_ ** **"****

` _Yeah, that´s right. But what´s your point?_ ´  
Slowly, the boy´s headache grew stronger; he didn´t understand anything. Just what was his partner speaking of?!

 **" _ **What if what you saw was a doppelganger? What if Esdeath knew where you were hiding all along, and simply bypassed you right from the start?"  
**_** Even though Kyūketsuki wasn´t completely sure, he assumed the one possibility Tatsumi didn´t consider, simply because of one thing: he had a similar ability himself. **  
** _ ** **"**** ** **As I told you before, you´re able to materialize creatures you once consumed as shadows that will move on their own. As long as you´re powerful enough, they won´t disappear and act according to your commands. What if Esdeath is able to create such beings out of ice, too? She most likely wouldn´t even have to fulfill any restraining conditions, unlike you.**** ** **"****_

Was that the answer? Was that how Esdeath could appear right behind him back then? It didn´t seem too far-fetched. On the contrary, it seemed to be possible for a person of the general´s strengh to possess that kind of power.

It was at that moment, someone tapped him on his shoulder from behind, bringing him out of his thoughts. While was deep in discussion with his Teigu, he didn´t realize they had already arrived at the forest´s borders, with the encampment in clear sight and a mere a hundred meters in front.

"Time´s up. We´re back at the camp, Tat~su~mi. Have you decided on your answer?"  
Expecting her lover to answer her, the general tenderly wrapped her arms around him from behind, leaning her chin on his right shoulder. An excited grin had spread all over her face, seemingly not noticing Tatsumi´s blush at the incredibly soft sensation he was feeling from his back.

"Yes, I did."  
Despite his flustered state, he tried his best to answer steadily. This was the moment of truth, and he had no intention of playing any of her games right now.  
"I don´t know what you did for sure, but I believe that you created a doppelganger of yourself out of ice which was able to move by itself. Was that how you tricked me?"

"Well done to figure it out."  
The general´s voice sounded impressed, yet completely serious. The answer he had given was indeed the right one.  
"You won our little bet. I´ll stay true to my word and fulfill any one wish of yours. You should consider it thoroughly. But let´s head back to the camp now."

With a small fake pout, the general loosened the embrace and stretched to her full height. After adjusting her uniform into its proper appearance, she passed by her still-motionless mate and motioned to him to follow her.

Walking towards the camp right behind the general, Tatsumi steeled himself for what was to come. He couldn´t tell anyone the truth about what had happened, after all...

 **That´s it.**

 **Concerning the competition I mentioned:**  
 **I want you to create a Danger Beast for one of the upcoming chapters. I´d like to send Esdeath and Tatsumi on a little hunt.**  
 **There are no restrictions concerning name, abilities and appearance. The only thing you should mind is that the Beast shouldn´t be too OP.**  
 **Whether you want to use actual animals or mythological creatures as a foundation is up to you. You can also think of your own unice Beast.**  
 **The best proposal will be mentioned in my chapter (the proposer will be credited).**  
 **Deadline is the 30.04.2018.**

 **Thanks for the support of my friends and ll of my readers.**

 **As always:  
** **Feel free to ask questions and tell me your opinions. Feel free to review.  
** **Feel free to send in your (OC-)requests.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Marcel M.**

 **P.S.: I´ll try to fix some minor errors in Chapter 1 to 7; no big issues, only grammar. You don´t have to worry about any changes in the story :)**


	9. Chapter 9: Kill the excuse

****\- Knok, knok.****

 **\- Who´s there?**

 **\- Chapter delivery! Sorry for the delay...**

 **Finally, I´m able to post the 9th chapter of my story. It took me long enough...**  
 **But life is always busy and I want to deliver high quality instead of quantity...**

 **The competition has ended and I already chose a winner. Originally, I planned to use the Beast in this chapter, but after I had finished everything, an even better plot came to mind. Therefore, I rewrote and shortened this chapter and decided to reveal the winner in the next one.**

 **Also, there were pretty good suggestion simply too bad to be ignored. Hence, I decided to use some of them at later points in the storyline.**

 **Concerning your questions:**  
 **1) shadowlord:** Honestly, I never read those comics. Nonetheless, you´ll definitely find some of the powers you mentioned (just a bit altered) ;)  
 **2) jamesnyo65:** Well, that´s a pretty good question andto be honest, I don´t know the answer myself, yet :P. No, seriously, it´s true Tatsumi is kind of using Esdeath in "Bent but not broken". But at the same time, I belive he has some feelings of love or at least affection towards her. He stated so himself in the fanfic. Concerning my story: Use your fantasy. I think it´s much more interesting to see new evolvements with every new chapter instead of knowing where this whole thing goes right from the start.  
 **3) Ghost iv** : Maybe... ;)

 **But enough for now. Enjoy :D**

DISCLAIMER:  
I DON´T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO THE "AKAME GA KILL"-FRANCHISE. THE MANGA WAS WRITTEN BY TAKAHIRO AND ILLUSTRATED BY TETSUYA TASHIRO.  
THIS FANFIC HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN FOR PROFIT!  
IT MAY CONTAINS SPOILER!  
IT´LL INCLUDE BRUTAL CONSIDERED SCENES!

 ** **Chapter 9: Kill the excuse****

Walking right behind his superior, Tatsumi could feel the gazes of his comrades in arms that were directed directly at him. He didn´t like the odd silence which found its way into their surrounding whenever they passed some of her soldiers.

 _`Something´s off.´_

He didn´t know what exactly had happened in his absence, but he was positive some of them held quite an amount of disdain towards him. They were not even trying to hide it completely, making him feel quite nervous, for he and Esdeath had already agreed in advance he´d have to explain his absence by himself and catch up with her before the departure of her army.

Nonetheless, they boy didn´t slow down at all. Ignoring all of the glances, he simply followed the General until they reached the centre of the camp, where they were surrounded by soldiers in no time.

Nobody dared to make a sound as the General turned towards her second-in-command, who stood right in front of the other men, ready to receive their new orders.

"Our task up here is finally finished. Get ready for departure! We´ll start our way towards the capital in an hour. Any questions concerning the recent happenings will be answered by my lover. It goes without saying nobody is to harm him except for me. Otherwise, I´d face said person myself."

Making sure to express that last part as threatening as possible, Esdeath knew not a single soldier would dare to disobey.

After receiving a quick salute by her second-in-command, the General turned around and started heading towards her tent without looking at her beloved at all; it´d be better for his reputation amongst her soldiers to deal with that situation alone. She knew how they thought after all.

A deafening silnce took over again after the General had left, making the youth feel even more uncomfortable than before. Looking at the faces of all the gathered soldiers didn´t help him either, even more so because he wasn´t able to spot his closest comrades amongst them.

But on the contrary, since the `Ice Queen´ had left, the disdain towards him got even more visble than before. He still didn´t know what could have happened after his disappearance which would stimulate those emotions, but Tatsumi knew he´d only be able to get out of that situation if he managed to think of a plausible explanation for his absence.

"What caused your disappearance?" Luke asked outright.

Esdeath´s second-in-command seemed to be one of the few gathered men to be completley neutral; or at least he didn´t show any negative emotions towards the boy.

"I don´t know for sure."  
It took everything from Tatsumi to not show any signs of his anxiety towards his superior. The only course of action the young soldier could think of was to stick as close to the truth as possible to soothe the mood.  
"Somehow, I seem to have gotten in the possession of a Teigu while being unconscious. When I woke up, I was completely fine; all of my wounds were gone..."

"...and you decided to run, costing our comrade in duty of the nightwatch his life!" An angered voice from one of the soldiers in the back finished his sentence.

Tatsumi sweat-dropped getting to know their cause for despising him. He had caused one of their comrades to die; and knowing _her_ , he was pretty sure it wasn´t a quick and painless death. Nonetheless, he couldn´t help but think the true reason for their rage was seeing him completely unscathed after he had clearly left the camp by himself without permission, and thus violating military standarts.

There was only one thing the boy could think of that could possibly calm them down. Even though he didn´t like the idea, he had to justify the death of that poor soul and assure them he had already been punished. But would they even believe him?

"That´s not right!"  
The boy answered as calm as possible, trying not to show any signs of malaise. He knew he´d better stick as close to the truth as possible if he wanted to avoid making his situation even worse.  
"I didn´t know my location at all when I woke up, nor did I know the outcome of the battle. I simply wanted to find out what had happened and grabbed a spare uniform, before leaving the medical tent in order to search for the General."

"But you never ended up arriving at your goal."  
Luke´s voice didn´t give away any hint about his frame of mind. It sounded completely neutral, matching the expression on the face of Esdeath´s second-in-command.  
"So what happened?"

"Well..."  
Tatsumi had no time to hesitate even though he didn´t know what to answer; the only chance for him was to stay calm. He had no idea whether they´d believe his made-up excuse or not, but there was no other chance for him than this one.  
"While I walked through the rows of tents in search of someone able to help me, I became lost and ended up at the edge of the camp, right above the plain covered with ice. I was just about to turn around, but I thought I had seen a person entering the forest and so I decided to have a look at it."

"And why didn´t you shout out for a night guard?" The officer asked, still not showing any emotion.

"I only learned of the Northerners´ fate later on, but back then I didn´t know about the final outcome of the war and thought of the silhouette to be a spy for remaining enemies. I didn´t want to risk definitely driving him away and thus tried to detain him by myself."

Even though he had assumed the final subjugation of the northern forces back then, the youth hoped this partly-true argument was good enough to deceive all of them.

"So you ended up getting lost in the forrest, trying to find the person you saw," concluded Luke with a stoical expression.

Hoping this would solve most of his problems, the boy nodded in response, not caring too much about the fate of those two soldiers from back then; they didn´t care about all those innocent victims, either.

"Fine. If that is what happened, I´ll see through the night guards in duty of supervising the plain will be punished accordingly for not taking their duties seriously. That would be all, soldier. You are dismissed."

"Even if that story is true, he should be punished too. He still violated military orders!" An angry voice shouted out of the last row.

"He´s just not receiving any punishment `cause he´s the General´s favourite!" added another one.

"The General´s orders were unmistakable! If anyone has the guts to try disregarding them, said person can feel free to try it now!" An equally-angry Luke shouted towards the approximated direction the voices were coming from.  
"But whether you actually get to harm him as long as I´m here is another thing."

The tension had reached its peak. If only one soldier would make a wrong move now, all the hatred towards the boy would burst forth, leading to these battle-proven men fighting each other; one side following their orders, the other side trying to satisfy their urge for justice, even though if that meant facing punishment by the sadistic general herself.

Gripping the hilt of his still sheated sword tightly with his sword hand, the vice-commander was prepared for everything. One wrong move of one of his subordinates, and he wouldn´t hesitate at all to cut said person down in one swift move.

Focusing on the soldiers in front of him, Luke didn´t notice the person, creeping up on him from behind. He only realized it, as said person grabbed his secondary weapon; a small dagger, being attached on the opposite side of the sword.

Fast as lightning, the seasoned fighter spun around to hack down the attacker, only to stop his sword inches away from Tatsumi´s head with a surprised look. He wouldn´t have assumed the teenager to make any move at all.

"I know most of you won´t believe me..." yelled the boy towards the crowd,  
"...but I already received my punishment by the General and this should be enough to prove it."

Luke´s eyes widened in shock. The officer stood there, unable to move, while the younger boy pierced the dagger right through his left hand, shouting out a cry of agony. After pulling it out again, the youth gripped his hand tightly, the amount of pain he felt clearly expressed on his face.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Luke shouted, shocked and enraged at the same time, snatching his bloodied dagger from the boy´s right hand. It was by then he realized something truly terrifying, making him go pale.  
 _`The General won´t overlook that...´_

"I´m proving my statement," Tatsumi declared aloud, his voice still trembling due to the amount of pain.  
"This wound will be gone as fast as the wounds I received by the General; there won´t even be a scar. Furthermore, not one of you will be punished, for she only forbid _you_ to hurt me. You´ll see the results for yourselves on a later date."

Without another word, the teenager turned around, stumbling away from the scene, still clasping his blood dripping hand, leaving his stunned and shocked comrades-in-arms behind. Right now, he had to check up on his friends.

 ** **Meanwhile...****

They had heard there had been quite some commotion back in the camp during the last two days, but neither of them got to learn any specifics.

Due to their injuries, Shin as well as Steve had been ordered to stay in their tent to not worsen their wounds. Normally, they would have been stationed inside of the medical tent until there was a possibility to send them back to the capital via carriage, but due to Tatsumi´s life-threatening condition, the doctor had treated any of the injured in their own tents.

Furthermore, there was no need for them to take a carriage right now. The war was over; the North had been subjugated. The army would return to the capital in one go in the near future. To be precise, it should have already been on its way back home right now...

Neither of them knew exactly what had caused the forces to be put on standby for now. The only visitors they got since they had returned from visiting their comatose friend, the doctor and the medical staff, weren´t too talkative either.

They had been informed about some disturbances, but not about the exact cause. Seeing the doctor´s pale expression when he informed them himself, however, made them feel pretty uncomfortable, even more so, because he had been eluding any questions concerning Tatsumi.

"I think we should just visit the tent and take a look, Shin."

Steve wasn´t comfortable with their lack of information at all. Why wouldn´t anybody tell them about their friend? Had something happened to him? The younger soldier just couldn´t stand this situation any longer.

"I dislike this as much as you do," replied the older man.  
"But we were ordered not to leave this tent for now. We are soldiers; we can´t just disobey orders because we have a bad feeling about something."

"But what if something has happened to him?"

Steve knew his companion was right, but he just couldn´t help but worry about their much younger friend. He had saved their lives more than once, but again, they weren´t able to do anything more for him than pray. It just didn´t sit right with him.

"We just have to trust in our comrades-in-arms and the General. We can´t do more than that for now."  
A deep sigh escaped Shin´s throat, given that he felt the same as his younger friend.  
"Let´s just try asking the doctor again, when he comes to check up on our wounds."

"Fine."

The younger man couldn´t surpress the resignation in his voice. He knew it wouldn´t change anything for now.

They had barely finished their small conversation when they heard footsteps drawing near. Undoubtedly, it would be either the doctor to check up on them or someone bringing their daily rations. Therefore, they couldn´t hide their shock and surprise at the same time when they spotted a well-known face entering the tent.

Their youngest friend stood right in the entrance to their tent, looking completely fine except for a hole in his left hand which seemed to have been caused only recently. Wide-eyed, the duo sat there, not knowing how to react towards the youth who looked at them with a sly but pained smile.

"Hey, guys. I´m very-"

The boy wasn´t able to finish his sentence when Steve pulled him into a bonecrushing hug, leaving him unable to speak.

"Thank god you´re alright! We were worried sick about you!" The older soldier shouted in a mix of anger and relief.

Tatsumi could tell his friend was fighting his tears.

"I´m really sorry."

"You don´t have to be. We were the reason you got into this situation after all."

Still sitting on his cot, Shin gave Tatsumi a sly smile. The oldest member of the trio was glad their friend had returned, but remained calm due to his experience of life.

"Anyone would help his friends, when the need arises. And as you can see, I´m fine."

"Now that you mention it..."  
Finally, Steve had calmed down somewhat, starting to process the whole situation.  
"But how? Last time we saw you, you were on the brink of death."

"That´s a long story, one which I don´t completely understand myself."

"We´ve got some time. Sit down and tell us what you know. In the meantime I´ll treat your wound; thank god the doctor left some spare bandages."

Hearing Shin´s words, Tatsumi made his way towards his friend´s cot, sitting down beside of him.

Having their full attention on himself, Tatsumi started to explain everything he knew, while Shin bandaged his hand. He told them about the first encounter with Kyūketsuki, about the kind of powers he was granted and how he woke up completely healed. The boy also admitted he had no clue of how he had aquired this Teigu, only to notice his friends exchanging thoughtful glances on that matter.

"What is it?"

"The ring you gave Tatsumi. Could that have been actually a Teigu?" Shin asked, ignoring Tatsumi´s question.

"And I always thought it was just a good luck charm..."

Steve seemingly couldn´t handle the information he had just received. Who´d have thought he was carrying an infamous and dangerous weapon all this time without having a clue?

"What are you talking about, guys?"

Tatsumi didn´t know what was going on here. Did they actually know something about how he came into possession of his Teigu?

It didn´t take his friends long to explain him, what had happened while he was still fighting for his life back then. And even though he couldn´t believe what a stroke of coincidences – or was it fate? – brought that ring into his hands, Tatsumi couldn´t help but feel delighted to know his friends cared as much for him as he did for them.

It was at that moment the entrance to the tent opened and a medic showed up, informing the injured duo of a carriage which would get them in about five minutes, for the departure of the army was near, shocking Tatsumi to his core. He indeed had forgotten about the time.

 _`Shit! I was supposed to meet up with her before the army starts to move!´_

Imagining her reaction in case of him being to late, the youth paled instantly, gatting the attention of his two friends.

"What´s up, boy?" Steve asked somewhat perplexed by the acute change in his friend´s behaviour.

"I-I forgot about the time!"  
The teen tried to sound as calm as possible but wasn´t able to hide his anxiety completely.  
"I´m sorry, but I won´t be able to tell you the rest of the story. Just ask one of our comrades! Bye!"

Leaving his two perplexed friends behind, Tatsumi started to hurry towards the General´s tent, ignoring the soldiers who were about to break down and load the remnants of the camp onto multiple carriages.

He had just arrived at the entrance of the General´s tent, when Esdeath and Luke – both already fully equipped – left it, the former stopping right in front of him and dismissing her second-in-command. After a quick salute, the still somewhat pale-looking soldier turned around, leaving the two of them alone.

"Perfect! Right on time."

Upon hearing those words, Tatsumi took a deep breath. He had managed to avoid the worst case. But his feeling of reassurance didn´t last long when he noticed Esdeath glancing at his freshly bandaged left hand with a frown, making him realize why Luke had such a frightened expression when he left the tent.

Seeing the youth´s face turn a tad white, the `Ice Queen´ didn´t need to hear her beloved speaking up and anticipated his questions.

"Don´t worry. Your actions did indeed defuse the situation, and it wouldn´t even leave a scar. There won´t be a punishment for anyone, at least not this time. But if you won´t stop acting on a whim, that could change pretty fast. Do you understand?"

Knowing she was absolutely serious, Tatsumi confirmed it with a nod, still not really able to speak. He felt frightened and relieved at the same time, but seeing her facial expressions soften somewhat after his confirmation, helped him getting calmer by every second.

"Good! Now that it´s cleared, I think the two of us should head out."

"What do you mean? Aren´t we travelling with the rest of your army?" A visibly confused Tatsumi asked.

"No! The two of us will meet up with my Three Beasts back in the capital. I want to know whether they have failed me or not. Ahh, perfect timing!"

Following Esdeath´s gaze, Tatsumi turned around, only to see a soldier approaching them with a sheated claymore in his hands, which he handed over to the General. Seeing her nod in approval, the soldier, after giving a quick salute, turned around, returning to his duties.

"I doubt you´ll need it, but just in case, you should have a sword with you. Don´t worry, I already got your belongings ready for our trip. Now it´s time for departure."

After handing over the sword to a confused looking Tatsumi, the General pulled out a small whistle she wore around her neck. Strangely enough, he didn´t hear a tune at all coming out of its outlet.

The youth didn´t know what to expect when the General stopped whistling. For him, it seemed nothing had changed.

 _`What is she trying to...´_

Suddenly, the boy picked something up. A strange sound seemed to get closer by the second, reminding him of... _beating wings?_

Completely stunned, he turned around and followed Esdeath´s line of sight, which had shifted towards the clouds above them which had gradually gathered within the last hour. It was by then Tatsumi was able to experience one of the most beautiful, yet terrifying sights he had seen in his whole life.

A giant black dragon burst through the blanket of clouds. And given what the youth could see, it had to be at least a S-ranked Danger Beast.

The dragon was at least as big as a house and partly clad in armor. A perfectly-sized metal plate in dull silver protected its complete abdomen, while its upper head was protected by some sort of a serrated helmet, encompassing everything except its piercing red eyes. A saddle had been placed on its back, being attached to two of the spires on its back. Its jaw was spiked with razor-sharp teeth and canines as long as swords.

The giant winged monster drew nearer to the ground with each flap, slowing down its descent. Placing its massive, ripped rear legs on the ground, the beast slowly came to a standstill after folding its wings on its side. It was then when Tatsumi spotted the bag containing his belongings attached to the saddle.

The dragon slowly hunched over, placing the claws which grew out of the bones forming its wings on the ground, before crawling over to the two of them, lowering its giant head right into Esdeath´s outstretched hand.

The boy didn´t know what to think. Never before had he deemed it possible for a Danger Beast to act that obediently, even more so for such a powerful one as this dragon. It was true the `Ice Queen´ wasn´t exactly what you´d call an ordinary human, but she had to be – he hoped so, at least.

"Your expression tells me you can barely believe what you see," Esdeath said, surpressing a chuckle. She simply loved the stunned look her beloved had on his face just now. If she´d have to rank it, she´d place it at the third place – right behind his heartful, innocent smile and his adorable sleeping face.

"I have to admit this is pretty impressive," replied the boy, trying to play down his actual thoughts.  
"But how were you able to achive this? How could you tame a S-class Danger Beast?"

"It´s pretty easy, in fact. You just have to show it that you´re stronger. Make it clear it lives only upon your grace; that it lives as long as it is useful."

The sadistic grin which had formed on her lips, as well as the seriousness in her voice, once more reminded the boy of who _this person_ was. Even the beast in front of them seemed to quiver in fear.

 _`Poor lad! I´m not even sure who of you should rather be referred to as a monster...´_

"Normally, I wouldn´t dress him up in battle gear, not even before an actual fight, but I´m not riding him alone today, hence I thought this to be better."

Esdeath had just finished her sentence as something he hadn´t thought about before dawned Tatsumi: **_They would actually ride this Danger Beast_ _!_**

The youth sweat-dropped. How could she expect him – an average human being – to ride a dragon with her? Ok, he had a Teigu; but that didn´t change his nature at all. Considering her power and personality, he had to admit he could imagine her doing such a thing. **_But him_ _?!_** He didn´t feel good about this at all. He had to prevent it!

"I-I don´t think t-that´s a good idea."  
Tatsumi tried his best to sound calm, but given the General´s cold and piercing gaze upon him as well as his situation, he couldn´t suppress his nervousness.  
"I-I mean it´s alright f-for you, b-but I think i-it might c-could be d-dangerous for me. I-I mean y-your d-dragon d-d-doesn´t know me. S-shouldn´t I-I just stay h-here and t-travel with t-the others..."

Still tickling the Danger Beast´s lower jaw, Esdeath didn´t react at all. She just kept looking at the youth with her blank expression. It was then, he noticed he had just asked for her to leave him with her army and travel alone. He couldn´t tell whether she actually considered that as an option, or whether he had just gotten her mad. After all, she hadn´t reacted too good to his earlier intentions of leaving her side. His face went pale.

Suddenly, the accrued silence around them shattered. Holding her stomach with her free hand, the General started to laugh heartily, getting the boy pretty perplexed.

"You´re simply afraid of riding him aren´t you?" Esdeath remarked, still giggling.  
"But you don´t have to worry. Gorgoth won´t attack you!"

 _`She has given it a name?! Is that a Danger Beast or her pet?!´_

"Well, technically that´s not right. Given that you´re most likely not strong enough to beat him in a fight right now – even though as I contemplate the strength of your Teigu, he most likely would have devoured you, if you were alone. But as long as I´m with you, that won´t happen. He wouldn´t dare to disobey me."

Tatsumi didn´t know what to say. She really wanted him to be near a creature which would most likely be able to make a snack out of him in an instant if she wasn´t around?! She couldn´t be serious about this. That had to be a bad joke.

"S-Sure."

The boy had no intention to give in, but he knew it would be even worse to anger that woman.

"Furthermore, it´s just this time. As soon as you´re strong enough, I´ll teach you the way of subjugating your own Danger Beast. It´s always a good method to increase your reputation and strength even more."

Noticing a slight blush on Esdeath´s face, Tatsumi became speechless once more. Had she really become flustered at the thought of him beating some strong Danger Beast under her supervision? Something just wasn´t right with her mind. It would be better to approach that problem in the near future. He had to take precautions not to accidentally act in a way which would encourage her traits, after all...

Distracted by his own thoughts, the youth didn´t notice the General approaching him until she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her mount in one go. Before he was able to say anything to her, the two of them already sat on the barely-big-enough saddle; himself placed directly behind the General.

"Time to fly! Better grab a hold of me Tat~su~mi. Gorgoth, go!"

"It can´t be that baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!"

Never before had the boy feared for his life to such an extent. Desperately trying to stay on the dragon somehow, he clutched the blushing general´s waist with all of his might. Normally, he wasn´t afraid of heights, but given the beast´s incomprehensibly high level of acceleration on its way up, he couldn´t help but imagine himself falling down to his death if he weakened his grip even slightly.

No matter how he looked at his situation, the boy was pretty sure this could be one hell of a trip...

 **Dammit! The chapter is finished already :(  
Don´t be too sad, the next will follow...**

 **Thanks for the support of my friends and ll of my readers.**

 **As always:  
** **Feel free to ask questions and tell me your opinions. Feel free to review.  
** **Feel free to send in your (OC-)requests.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Marcel M.**

 **P.S.: I didn´t manage to do it since the release of my last chapter. So this is just a reminder:  
I´ll try to fix some minor errors in Chapter 1 to 8; no big issues, only grammar. You don´t have to worry about any changes in the story :)**


	10. Chapter 10: Kill the minds burden

****Hi there. I´m able to release the 10**** ** **th**** ** **chapter, finally.  
Normally, I´d now answer some questions or talk about some of the story´s evolvements, but not this time. This time, there is a far more urgent matter to talk about, which heavily influenced my past months as well as this chapter. Therefore, this will be settled at the end of the chapter.****

 ** **First of all, I´d like you all to know about the events that changed my view of life somewhat during the last months.****

 ** **Right now, I´m only 20. I graduated from school only 2 years ago. My fellow graduates and friends, as well as I, still have quite some way to go, and goals to acchieve in our lives.  
Nonetheless, one close friend of mine tried to commit suicide by taking an excessive amount of high dosed medication. Fortunately, it failed and we have the possibility to help him overcome his depression.****

 ** **As if that wasn´t enough, another fellow graduate disappeared quite some time ago. After a frantic search, his body was finally found weeks later. He had taken his life by jumping off a cliff...****

 ** **Even though, I wasn´t influenced directly, all of this still got me thinking about a lot of things. And as a result, I´d like to share some words with you, I think to be important:****

 ** **Depressions are a serious illness and nothing to take lightly. I can understand if you sometimes think life sucks and everything would be better if it all ended.****

 ** **But please consider the following: Life is hard on everyone, and only the one´s who struggle will ultimately succeed.  
Taking your life won´t help anyone. On the contrary, it will only worsen the lives of those close to you. And believe me if I say: There are always persons, caring for you!****

 ** **Suicide isn´t a solution. It´s only the easiest way to end your own suffering. But going that way will just make others suffer even more than they already do. And such a thing shouldn´t be happening.****

 ** **So face your problems, face your fears and fight your depressions. Talk to the one´s close to you! But if you shouldn´t feel able to do so, please talk to anyone caring for your life! Call the hotline(s) for suicidal prevention in your country!****

 ** **That being said, I wish the best to all of you.****

 ** **Originally, I had planned for the story to take another turn. But given the mentioned events, I felt it to be my duty to try and reappraise some of them in my story. Therefore, even though it wasn´t planned, I´ll make Tatsumi face his past one last time.  
****

 ** **I want to apologize that the next chapter won´t be that fluent to read and the dialogues and events sometimes seem to be a bit off, eventually. But writing somewhat realistically about this theme proofed to be pretty difficult and I had to make sure that I´d be able to continue the story regularily with the next chapter.****

 ** **I can assure you my Beta and I checked the chapter more than once to make it as pleasant to read as possible. So try to keep that in mind and don´t be too harsh with your critic this chapter...****

DISCLAIMER:  
I DON´T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO THE "AKAME GA KILL"-FRANCHISE. THE MANGA WAS WRITTEN BY TAKAHIRO AND ILLUSTRATED BY TETSUYA TASHIRO.  
THIS FANFIC HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN FOR PROFIT!  
IT MAY CONTAINS SPOILER!  
IT´LL INCLUDE BRUTAL CONSIDERED SCENES!

 ** **Chapter 10: Kill the mind´s burden****

They had been flying for about half an hour now, leaving Esdeath´s army behind. And contrary to his initial misgivings, Tatsumi had to admit their ride was pretty enjoyable. They had pierced above those thick clouds behind so that he could now enjoy the warming rays of the shining sun and the landscapes beneath them.

It was true their ascent had been pretty rough and terrifying for the youngster, but since they had reached an ideal and stable flight level, everything had calmed down. Nonetheless, he firmly held on to the General´s waist as a precaution. There was no way he´d risk anything in this altitude...

The two of them had already travelled quite some distance in that short amount of time, the bigger animals strolling through the woods beneath them being the only signs of life this far up north. They were still in the borderland connecting the Empire and the Northern Kingdom, after all.

"Are you enjoying the view beneath us?" Esdeath asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes. It reminds me of my village and its surroundings."

"You and your friends originally came from a village far in the north of the Empire, right?"

Being reminded of his dead friends, a wave of sadness overcame the young boy. Even though quite some time had passed, the events still haunted him to the day. He just hadn´t been able to move on. Was it because he hadn´t been able to inform their parents, nor the rest of the village, about it? Would he finally be able to deal with the matter after he properly informed them? Would they blame him for their deaths? Tatsumi had no clue at all. But would it really be alright to remain that way...?

It was by then he made a decision. The youth didn´t know whether he´d regret it one day or not, but right now he couldn´t care less. In order to become stronger and help the people in need all over the empire, he had to deal with his past first.

"I´d like us to make a small detour on our way back. I have to deal with some matters in my village..."

"That would delay our arrival in the Capital for at least a day. We can go there on a later date."

"We have to go now! It can´t wait any longer!"

"O-ho... Since when are you able to order me around? You are in no position to command me," an intrigued Esdeath replied in a mocking tone.

"You may be right with that, but if it´s for this reason, I´m cashing in the favour you owe me..."

A cunning smile had found its way on the General´s lips.

Truth to be said, she had no problem at all in taking a small detour. Why would it matter to waste some more days in order to arrive at the Capital? She´d even get the chance to learn more about her beloved...

But that didn´t mean she´d fulfill his wishes for free. It was for the strong to decide the way something would be done, not for the weak. And if the weak wanted to decide, it always came at a price. The sooner he learned that lesson, the sooner he´d get one step closer to her level. The price he had to pay this time was nothing more than the one favour she owed him.

To her, it was nothing more than a little game being played between the two of them. And right now, she knew she had already won.

"Are you sure about that? You´d better think carefully about it," Esdeath said, feigning innocence.

"Yes, I am sure!" Tatsumi replied without a moment of hesitation. He simply had no clue about the General´s intentions at all.

"Fine, then," Esdeath replied with a shrug. "You just have to tell me where to go."

"I don´t know for sure from this point..."

Right now, the only thing Tatsumi could see was the large forest beneath them. There still was no evidence of any populace out there. His only hope was for Esdeath to know how to find the old trade route connecting the northern villages with the Capital; the same route he used to leave his home...

"Do you know where the old trade route leading north winds through the woods? I could tell you the way to the exact location of my village from there."

"Sure. I´ve flown over those woods quite some times."

The General had barely finished speaking, when she pulled lightly on the reins in her hand, making the dragon alter its route slightly to the right.

It took them about twenty more minutes before they finally located the old trading route, gliding right above it. After taking a look at the scenery beneath them now, Tatsumi knew they already were close to his village. He had been here quite some times with his friends, back when they were hunting, and when times passed innocently by.

They´d just have to follow the route down south, until a small path in bad condition would divert from it towards the west. His birth place would be right at the end of it.

Normally, it would have taken a person at least half an hour by foot to reach it, but given their way of travelling, Tatsumi was sure they´d make it in a few minutes. Then again... would it really be a good idea to fly all the way to the village? Who´d expect anyone to ride a dragon such as this Gorgoth, and land it right inside a village?

No matter how Tatsumi thought about this, it wasn´t a good idea at all. He would already feel bad enough to tell them the truth about Sayo and Ieyasu; why should he make it even worse by risking to terrify the whole village with a stunt that stupid...?

"We´ll have to follow this route down south for a little more, until a path diverts towards the west," he told his powerful companion, making her pull the reins once more in order to steer her pet. "Said path will lead us right to my village."

"All right. It shouldn´t take too long then," the General answered without looking back.

"But could you please land the dragon somewhere the villagers won´t see it? It would be better that way."

The news he was about to deliver were already bad enough. There was no way Tatsumi would make this even worse...

"Why should I? And how would that be `better´ in any way?"

"I don´t want anyone to panic seeing a dragon heading right for the village."

"People living in the north shouldn´t panic by such a thing. They should always be prepared for a fight to the death."

Tatsumi took a deep breath. Why couldn´t this woman understand that most people weren´t like her? Why didn´t she usually care about those weaker than her? Would this change in the distant future or was this just a dream of his never to become true? He´d seriously have to deal with this matter once he got the chance. But for now, he had to ignore those questions.

"But this won´t turn into a battle; I just want to meet up with them and settle some matters without any troubles. Let´s just land out of their sight, please."

"Fine. I wouldn´t like to have to kill all people of your village in a fight, after all."

"Thanks."

Even though he thought those words alone to be pretty terrifying, Tatsumi took a deep breath. At least this time, he had managed to avoid any sort of turmoil.

Looking down, the boy could see the crossroads right beneath them. After flying in a wide arc to the right, the pair had finally managed to change their direction right towards his small village at the end of the path.

It took them about three more minutes before they decided to land at a small clearing next to the path. It was just about far enough from the village so nobody could have spotted them from there.

After dismounting off Gorgoth, Esdeath sent the giant beast away to do as it pleased until she´d call for its services. With that, the pair turned around and left the clearing, walking the last few meters by foot.

"It´s right behind this small hill," Tatsumi said, after a few minutes of walking in silence. There was no way he could hide a slightly bitter tone from creeping in his voice.

It was true he felt overjoyed to get to see all the people he had grown up with once more, but at the same time, it pained him to think about having to deliver the news of Sayo´s and Ieyasu´s passing. But he had to do it.

"Is everything OK?" A somewhat concerned sounding Esdeath asked him, startling Tatsumi out of his thoughts.

"I´m fine, really. I´m just worried about the villagers´ reaction when they learn about my friends. I hope they´ll be able to handle it..."

"Mhm."

Esdeath didn´t know what to say. Frankly speaking, she couldn´t understand her beloved at all. Why would anyone in that village, except for their parents, care for those two weaklings at all? It just didn´t make any sense. But she knew asking this upfront would only enrage her mate, and she had no intentions at all to start another argument about his foolish ideology right then and there. Therefore, they walked on in silence.

It took them just a few more steps before they finally were able to see the village down from the hill. Much to Tatsumi´s surprise, it looked quite different from before. The whole village was surrounded by a palisade made of sharpened trunks which seemed to have been erected only recently, leaving only one entrance in form of a closed gate. The image of a friendly and open village had changed to the image of a military fortress, built to withstand any danger.

Tatsumi didn´t know what could have happened with his village, but there was no time at all to think about it, as a loud voice shouted from atop the palisade.

"Who´s out there?"

"It´s me, Tatsumi! I´ve come to pay a short visit."

The youth had barely finished his sentence when he noticed the gate being opened from the inside, slowly revealing the familiar huts behind it.

Still confused about the whole situation, Tatsumi continued his way towards the gate, having Esdeath walking right behind him. It took the pair just a few more steps before they finally entered through the gate.

The sight presenting itself in front of the boy´s eyes instantly blew all of his worries away for a moment, causing a bright smile to form on his face and tears of joy to stream down his cheeks. Upon hearing of his return, everyone in the village had gathered in a semicircle at the entrance to greet him. Right in the middle of them stood the village elder, who had been raising Tatsumi instead of his long-deceased parents.

"It´s good to see you, Tatsumi," the elder said, audibly moved, while stepping forward to embrace his young foster son, causing the crowd around them to erupt in loud cheering.

"It´s good to see all of you, too," answered the boy, returning the affectionate gesture.

"But I see you haven´t come alone." Still smiling, the elder released the youth of the embrace, turning his head towards Esdeath who had been standing idly by to watch the scene. "Pardon my bluntness, but who might you be, young lady?"

Tatsumi´s blood went cold as he sensed a sudden decrease in temperature from behind him. Basically, the elder hadn´t done anything wrong. But being aware of the person in question, the youth knew there was no possibility of her not taking this as an insult. Heaven forbid. That wouldn´t end well. He had to do something... now!

"This is my superior officer as well as the person I´m in love with, General Esdeath Partas, the Empire´s strongest!"

Following the boy´s hasty declaration, there was nothing but silence. Nobody dared to move. The villagers just stood there wide-eyed with mouths agape. Tatsumi had assumed them to react that way. But to be honest, he wasn´t any less flustered than them; but given the things being at stake, he knew this would be his only chance.

 _`Dear god, make this work!´_

Even though he prayed for it, he couldn´t feel any increase in temperature at all. But truth to be told, there was no way for him to sense that in any way. The panic had caused all of his senses, except for hearing and sight, to shut down completely. He simply had to hope he had chosen the right words and would be able to solve this without any casualties...

He could hear the crunching sounds of the snow behind him as the `Ice-Queen´ slowly walked towards his position, but the youth just couldn´t bring himself to look back. He was just too afraid to look her in the face and tell whether this would end well or not. Time seemed to stop for the boy, while drops of sweat slowly ran down his neck.

Then the noise stopped, and another deafening silence followed, making the youth´s heart pound even harder and his body quiver. Everything would be determined in just a blink of an eye...

All the pressure finally melted away from Tatsumi as a pair of arms wrapped around his torso from behind, and a chin was placed on his right shoulder, making it possible to see the General´s smiling face, as well as a slight blush, out of the corner of his eyes.

"It´s just as he said," Esdeath confirmed cheerfully, hugging and pressing her sizeable breasts to her lover from behind. After all, he had finally admitted his true feelings for her.

It was only by then the youth realized the actual weight of his words.

 _`Fuck. Now I´ve done it. It won´t be easy to maneuver myself out of that one without pissing her off. But I´ll have to deal with that later; it´s working for now...´_

"That´s quite some news. Who´d have thought you´d find your soulmate on your journey back when you left. And she´s even a general!" The elder smiled kindly at his foster son, before looking at Esdeath and bowing apologetically. "General Esdeath, I´m awfully sorry to not have recognized you, nor your status. It wasn´t my intention to speak out of place to you. But being the remote village we are, we rarely get any information about the events taking place in our Empire. Furthermore, I wouldn´t have expected a person of your standing to visit our humble village..."

"That´s already forgotten."

Tatsumi took another deep breath. He had indeed managed to avoid bloodshed. Finally, he was able to relax.

Looking around, he noticed the villagers regaining their composure one by one. He even caught sight of some suggestive grins and winks here and there, making his face turn red instantly. Hearing a silent snicker near his right ear as a result only worsened his blush.

His eyes kept wandering, until he spotted the parents of his two late friends amongst the crowd, bringing the youth´s mind back to the original purpose of his visit.

With a face now devoid of any emotions, the boy pulled himself out of the hug, causing everyone to stare at him in confusion as he slowly made his way towards their position. He wasn´t even halfway there as he noticed their saddened and slightly desperate faces. He could tell they already knew what he was about to say...

Stopping right in front of them, the boy fell to his knees, averting his gaze to avoid looking in their faces.

"I´m sorry. It was my fault..."

From there on, he told them everything which had happened to them on their way to the Capital, without sparing them any details. They deserved to know the whole truth.

He had barely finished speaking before he was pulled into a caring hug. Looking up, he recognized Sayo´s mother. He could hear her sobbing and feel a wetness on his left shoulder, exactly where her face was buried. Feeling her shaking body, the boy couldn´t help but wrap his arms around a mother, shaken to the core.

"Stop blaming yourself. All of us knew you´ve done everything you could for Ieyasu and our daughter."

Sayo´s father had positioned himself right behind his wife, holding her shoulders with his hands to comfort her, trying not to tremble too much himself. He was the one speaking the truth with a shaking voice.

"I don´t believe you to be at fault for anything..."

Looking up, Tatsumi was able to see Ieyasu´s parents trying to comfort each other in this dire moment. At that time, Tatsumi too couldn´t hold back his tears anymore, letting all of his emotions out; and with him cried along a whole village...

It took quite some time until there were no tears left to cry. But finally, everyone had calmed down somewhat. They had already spoken about the possibility of the youths´ deaths beforehand, after all. The journey to the Capital was long and dangerous, and it would have been foolish not to think about the worst case, even for the most optimistic among them.

Everyone knew it´d take much more time to finally stop mourning, especially for their parents, but at least all of them were aware of the trio´s fate, and nobody had to worry about their whereabouts anymore. It wouldn´t help to stop the pain from occurring, but most likely they would be able to bring their sorrow into a conclusion, over time.

Nonethelees, the villagers agreed tacitly to leave the parents of the two deceased youth´s alone for the moment. Therefore, the elder took the opportunity to lead them to their huts, comforting them all the while.

Returning after quite some time, he was also the first one to find the right words in front of the other villagers. "Even though they´re gone, we´ll remember both of them as the brave and skilled warriors they were. They´ll live on in our hearts and minds forever. Thank you, Tatsumi, for creating an appropriate grave for them. Now, they can rest in peace."

"Thank you..."

Just with those words, a simple, very simple eulogy, a great burden had been lifted from the boy´s shoulders. Finally, his wounds were able to heal completely. Finally, he´d be able to overcome this event of the past and focus on his future.

"I´ll do my best to support this village the way the three of us originally had planned. I´ll see through to fulfill their wishes!"

Noticing the kind and caring smile of the old man, Tatsumi felt the last remnants of sorrow disappear, and replaced by the joy he felt when he saw his village for the first time after the start of his journey earlier.

Right at that moment, there was only one more thing worrying the youth...

"Say, Elder, what is that wall surrounding the village? Are you under attack? If so, I consider it to be my duty to help."

Another round of silence followed. Tatsumi could see the elder was clearly uncomfortable to speak of the problem. Did he want to put even more of a burden on the boy? Why wouldn´t he tell the youth about the village´s problem? The youth wouldn´t be able to take it...

"Tell me, what is it?"

"Fine. Something is lurking in the woods..." Tatsumi could clearly hear the hesitation in the elder´s voice. "Some of the merchants making their way to this village were attacked, disappeared. Since then, nobody took the risk to visit this village anymore. The three of you were our best hunters, and we couldn´t manage to find a suitable replacement. Therefore, we decided to secure the village instead."

"I´ll hunt it down!" The boy´s answer came without a moment of hesitation.

"Tatsumi, you don´t have to..." The elder was thankful for the offered help, but there was no way he´d put any more burdens on the youth. His foster son had already gone through enough after all.

"That was no `offer´. I´ll hunt it down! There is no way..."

"Excuse my rude interruption, but you don´t really think that´s up to you to decide, do you?"

The boy hadn´t been able to finish his sentence, as a cold and petulant sounding whisper from behind reminded him of his accompaniment, causing a shiver to go through his body.  
He could feel the General´s hands caressing his shoulders again. She must have gotten close whilst he had been distracted...

"We still need quite some time to get to the Capital, after all, and I don´t plan on wasting any time by hunting small fries."

"Esdeath, please. Do it for me..." The boy begged, barely loud enough for her to hear. There was no way he´d let anyone of his village in about her true nature...

"I don´t really care about the circumstances, and only death is for free..."

The youth instantly understood the meaning behind those whispered words. But he didn´t care. Right now, the only thing which mattered to him was to help his village...

"I´d be deeply indebted to you, Esdeath. And I always have been told a favour has to be paid back with another one..."

Even though her facial expressions didn´t change in the slightest, Tatsumi could outright imagine the General´s victorious smile and her longing glance.

"Don´t worry." Putting on a slightly caring expression, the General turned towards the villagers, still holding her mate. "As my beloved said, we´ll find out about whatever is lurking in the woods and deal with it. This is not only Tatsumi´s wish, but also my duty as general of the Empire. How could I possibly ignore the needs of the Empire´s citizens?"

Seeing the villagers´ expressions lighten up, Tatsumi felt at ease, even though he knew nearly every word Esdeath had spoken moments ago had been a lie. How would such a person have been able to massacre thousands of people without caring otherwise? But as long as this faked compassion showed effect, he wouldn´t worry about it for now.

"You have our gratitude, General Esdeath," the elder said with a bow. "When will you head out? Tomorrow?"

"I think we should go now." Looking at Esdeath for confirmation, Tatsumi preempted her answer with his suggestion. "Wild animals and Danger Beasts are more active at night after all."

A lot of time had passed since their arrival, and dusk had already darkened. There was no way he´d take this matter easily. Whatever threatened his village, it wouldn´t live through the night.

"Eager to go on a hunt, huh?" Esdeath replied, an expectant grin forming on her lips, exposing her teeth. "But you´re right. It´s better to hunt at night. Let´s go then."

With that, the General turned around, heading towards the gate, indicating the boy to follow her.

"Wait just one moment."

Having Tatsumi´s attention, the elder turned around, speaking to the villager closest to him, seemingly giving him orders to go and fetch something. After receiving his orders, the man turned around and disappeared into the closest hut, just to return with two portions of corned beef and a small bag.

"Take this. I know it isn´t much, but it should be enough to get through the night."

Thanking the elder, Tatsumi stowed the beef inside the bag and strapped it on his back. After a short farewell, he turned around, following Esdeath out of his village. With this, the pair disappeared into the woods.

 ** **The Capital****

 _`There´s so much that´s wrong with this damned city...´_

Once more, their group had successfully ended one of their purges. Once more, Logan had been surprised by the cruelty of the nobility and the powerful. He had experienced so much pain by himself during his childhood. And yet...

...standing in front of the opened shed, looking at all those tortured and mutilated corpses made his past seem easy...

"Finished with the job?"

A feline-looking woman with cat ears, a cat tail, two giant paws instead of hands and long blond hair, resembling a lion´s mane, brought the young man in his early twenties out of his thoughts.

"Yes, I am, Leone. But there are no remains of their daughter..."

Slowly, the man turned around with a serious expression on his face, until he faced the scantily-dressed woman. Normally, any man would have been instantly aroused by her figure, which was only covered by a long white scarf wrapped around her neck, a black wrapping across her abundant chest, two white sleeves over her lower arms and held in place by a pair of golden bangles, a black string, pair of knee-high brown boots and a pair of white trousers, exposing her inner thighs.

What stood out, however, was a bronze belt with a silver hexagonal buckle: Leone´s Teigu, called: **_**The King of Beast´s Transformation: Lionelle**_**.

"So you fed her to your eagles, huh?"

Leone already knew the answer. The two of them had already known each other for a long time, even before joining the assassins.

"It was the least I could do to avenge those poor souls the whole family has lured in and killed..."

"Fine with me. What matters is that they are no more. But let´s go now. We don´t want our identities exposed after being discovered here, do we?"

"No. Let´s meet up with Akame and the rest."

After one last short prayer for the souls of those having been killed in the shed, the pair turned around, heading towards the big mansion right behind them, where their friends already waited.

Together, the group finally disappeared into the night, leaving the capital. But it wouldn´t be their last visit; that much was for sure.

Wherever there would be the need to purge those corrupted by their power and drained in pleasure, they´d appear again to do their bloody work and avenge those without power.

Because that was what their organization had been doing for quite some time now.

The organization called: **_**Night Raid**_**...

 **With that, the chapter is finished.**

 **As you read, I tried to process some feelings and acts of mourning into this chapter, especially the situation, parents have to face in a case as descriebed at the beginning.**

 **Hopfully, I managed to get it done, at least somewhat.**

 **Given the events I had to deal with, I moved the result of the competition into the next chapter.  
Instead I introduced the first requested OC. The request came from TheCarlosInferno.  
**

 **Questions:  
1) Guest: **She knew because Luke told her. She just had expected such an action by Tatsumi.  
 **2) Cario Regun:** Until now, I haven´t shown too much of Esdeath. She´s far stronger than what it seems. My work is indeed influenced by `Bent but not broken´. I had not too much joices for Tatsumi´s Teigu. I plan on a bigger role for Bulat, after all. Concerning other existent Teigu, I just didn´t think that a powerful one would fit Tatsumi at all. Concerning the "good demon" I don´t want to spill any beans. But keep the following in mind: Not everything is as it seems...

 **That was that.  
**

 **Thanks for the support of my friends and ll of my readers.**

 **As always:  
** **Feel free to ask questions and tell me your opinions. Feel free to review.  
** **Feel free to send in your (OC-)requests.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Marcel M.**


	11. Chapter 11: Kill the threat

****Back again! Finally! Missed me?****

 ** **First of all: I hope you all spent a merry Christmas with your families. Also: Happy New Year to each of you :)****

 ** **Now, I could complain about live, love and more. I could try explaining this delay. But you´ve waited long enough. And I don´t think anyone is here to read about my personal problems :P Therefore, I´ll spare you xD****

 **This time there were no real questions. So instead I´d just like to thank each of you for the support. And a big shoutout to my Beta who has to deal with me. He´s got nerves of steel xD**

 **Just for "RIP fanfic":** I try my very best :P

 **Winner of the competition: "anotherboarduser"! Shoutout!**

 **Now enjoy :)**

DISCLAIMER:  
I DON´T OWN ANY RIGHTS TO THE "AKAME GA KILL"-FRANCHISE. THE MANGA WAS WRITTEN BY TAKAHIRO AND ILLUSTRATED BY TETSUYA TASHIRO.  
THIS FANFIC HAS NOT BEEN WRITTEN FOR PROFIT!  
IT MAY CONTAINS SPOILER!  
IT´LL INCLUDE BRUTAL CONSIDERED SCENES!

 ** **Chapter 11: Kill the threat****

Slowly, her monstrous body wriggled through the woods. She felt the hunger grow stronger with every passing second. There had been no prey for her for quite some time now, as any kind of living being seemed to avoid wandering her territory at all. She was the queen of this forest, and everybody was aware of that fact after they found the umpteenth crushed skeletons left behind.

Nonetheless, the creature couldn´t be proud of it, simply because she didn´t understand the logic of other living beings. But even if she were able to, she most likely wouldn´t care.

The only important thing for this beast was to _survive_. But for that, she´d need some nourishment. And thus, she roamed the northern woods in search of anything which could satiate it.

It was then a distant sound picked her interest, making her stop her body´s movement for a second. Seemingly, her search would end pretty soon...

Driven by her hunger, the giant monster changed her direction towards the sound, eager to get a hold of her still living food...

 ** **Tatsumi and Esdeath****

The boy sighed in frustration. Up until now, he hadn´t been able to find any signs of being near their prey. No, it was even worse: He hadn´t even found clues of its existence... And Esdeath was of no help at all...

He knew about her reputation as an exceptional hunter; she had tracked him down by herself during his attempted escape after all. But right now, she made nothing at all to help him with his search. In fact, she just surveyed every move of his closely. He felt like a student being supervised by his mentor during training...

"Have you found any tracks?"  
Slowly, he turned his head. The youth knew that this question was futile. He assumed the answer after all.

"Nope."

"Have you even looked for any tracks...?"

"This is _your_ hunt. There´s no way I´m gonna´ help you. But so far you haven´t missed any clues. I have to admit you´re quite a good hunter, but there´s still a lot for you to learn..." the General stated matter-of-factly.

For a short moment, Tatsumi thought to have heard a slight change in her voice. Something was making her sound... pleased? But, right now, he had no time to be distracted by such little things.

"Could you please start helping me out instead of behaving like a teacher? I´d like to find this thing as soon as possible."

"But I _am_ your teacher, for your skills are inferior to mine."  
A mocking grin, directed right at Tatsumi, formed on her face. Her beloved had quite some way to go, if he hadn´t noticed the same presence she had sensed about a minute ago. As expected, he had failed that little test...

"Either you prove it, or stop mocking my skills...!"

"Fine... **_**Gletscherwand**_**!"  
With just a snap of her fingers, a thick wall of ice dashed forward out of the ground right next to her surprised lover.

The wall rose just in time to shield Tatsumi from the gigantic Danger Beast which had leapt out of the bushes to his left in order to devour him completely. With a dull impact, the beast´s body hit the wall of ice, bouncing it back at least several meters away. No traces of the impact could be seen before the ice dissolved into a sparkling cloud of dust, leaving a startled youth behind, trying to process what had just happened.

A threatening hiss brought the boy back to the present, making him properly look at the creature for the first time. Before his eyes laid a snake-like creature at least fifteen meters in length. Its body as wide as a trunk. The poisonous green of its scaled body made Tatsumi feel sick to his stomach. Apparently, the impact was fierce enough to make it stumble over and under itself, as its softer underbelly was presented in front of him.

The youth had never before seen a creature like this one. He didn´t even dream, much less assume something like this could exist. After all, it didn´t resemble any kind of Danger Beast he had heard of before.

Watching the being before his eyes carefully, Tatsumi slowly pulled his claymore out of its sheath. He was pretty sure there was no need for him to go all out and use the abilities of his Teigu.

The muscles in his body began tensing up as that thing started to move, revealing its upper parts which had been buried under its massive body. To the youth´s shock, two toned arms pushed a human-like form up from the cold ground, revealing a naked female upper torse, colored the same sickish green as the scales. The beast´s face was that of a beautiful woman. Tatsumi had to admit it to be quite charming, even though, it wasn´t as sightly as Esdeath´s.

Clearly angered, a thin membrane spread aggressively around the monster´s neck, supporting a wide open jaw lined with poison-covered fangs and a long forked tongue. Undoubtedly lethal, Tatsumi forced himself to tear his imagination away from what would happen if just one drop of that venom entered his body. It hissed loudly as it rose, at least two meters above Esdeath's own tall figure, threatening his life.

Tatsumi stared right into the beast´s black slits, which were following his every movement. He somehow had the feeling Esdeath wouldn´t aid him in this fight, unless he was about to die. But he had no intention to play with that option again. He had to deal with this thing alone.

Without another moment of hesitation, the youth dashed forward, trying to surprise his opponent. The monster´s tail, powerful enough to end this fight with one hit, rushed at him at high speed. However, the boy jumped high into the air and counter-slashed down at the head of the beast.

But much to his surprise, a scaled arm got in the way just in time, which was hard and tough enough to deflect his blade perfectly. Using his momentum to perform a backflip, Tatsumi, in reverse, barely evaded the sharp claws of the beast´s right hand himself.

"Its scales are hardened enough to block any slashes with a sword. You either have to hit its weak points or use brute force to pierce its skin. You should think more about the abilities of your opponent _before_ you attack," Esdeath remarked matter-of-factly.

"Thanks for that advice _after_ my attack failed! I found out that much by myself!"  
Tatsumi couldn´t hide his annoyance any longer. If she wasn´t going to help, he was fine with it, but he just couldn´t stand her gloating attitude regarding his mistake!

Nonetheless, the boy knew she was right. Far too often, he had been rushing into battles without thinking, and sure enough, it delivered him right up towards brink of death more than just once. He wouldn´t always be that lucky...

Contrary to `her´ massive size, the monster had proven to be astoundingly fast. Given the way it could move the lower body, Tatsumi assumed the junction between `her´ upper torso and serpentine tail to be the most muscular one. A critical hit there should slow the beast down badly. But at the same time, it would be the most dangerous course of action. If he were to be hit by its tail, he would be out cold for sure. No, just having his blade caught in-between those thick muscles would seal his fate.

He had to end this with his next move, if possible...

 _`Use brute force...´  
_ It was by then Esdeath´s words came to mind. It was true he had to think about his actions more and evaluate every possible solution, but sometimes, the right answer was just that simple. Sometimes, it was safer to rely on strength alone.

And one of those moments was right now.

Prepared for his enemy´s counter, the youth rushed forward once more. As predicted, the creature´s muscular tail aimed at his torso again, trying crush most of his body in one go.

But without much of an effort, the boy evaded it.

Tatsumi was well aware he had to use his full momentum and a lot of pressure to pierce the beast´s scales. But, according to the laws of physics, he knew he wouldn´t be able to add extra pressure to his attack. He was, after all, just a weak human in comparison to that thing before him and, furthermore, his Teigu wouldn´t be able to simply enhance his body´s strength. In one motion, he had to pierce the body from beneath and pierce through the vitals, evading the follow-up claws from this monster.

Most likely, this would be his only chance to win this fight without the help of the general. He knew she´d fight if he asked – no, _begged_ her to, but he also knew it´d come at a cost. And he wouldn´t give her that favor so easily...

Confident, the youth rushed on, shirking from the creatures razor-sharp claws, trying to separate the boy´s head from his torso right after `her´ tail had missed him.

That was his chance. In order to attack him with its claws, the monster had been forced to bend down low enough to allow Tatsumi to reach its vitals from underneath. With full force, he drove his claymore right into the beasts body, causing loud shrieks of agony and pain to erupt. But he pushed on regardless, causing the gigantic body to start twitching, losing the fight against the Grim Reaper little by little.

Fully aware of his impending victory, Tatsumi used his chance to throw his body to the right, rolling out of harm´s way, right before the dying beast collapsed on the snowy ground, driving his claymore even deeper into the massive body, right through `her´ spine and back.

"Well done. You actually observed your opponent and decided on the best course of action."  
Extending her right hand, the general helped her lover back to his feet. Finally, he seemed to have learned the lection she wanted to teach him so badly. Finally, he had begun observing his foe before rushing into a fight blindly.  
"And you actually listened to me, too..."

"Thanks..."  
Even though he didn´t like it, Tatsumi had to admit Esdeath was right. Nonetheless, there still was something, bugging the boy.  
"But what exactly is that thing? I´ve never even heard of such a creature before..."

"These creatures are called _Desert Demons_. Normally, they only appear in the south-eastern deserts where they can easily hide beneath the sand dunes, waiting for their prey. They are poikilothermic creatures," the huntress explained.

"Poik-what...?"  
The youth didn´t understand a thing. He wasn´t stupid by any means, but that term simply exceeded the things he had been taught thus far. He couldn´t even remember having read this term in a book before...

" _Poikilothermic_. That means their blood heat depends on the ambient temperature around them. The colder their environment, the lower their body heat. They become less active. If it´s too cold, they die."

"But if that´s the case, how could this thing survive here then?"  
Curious, he asked her further.

"For once, I have to admit I can´t answer this question too," Esdeath responded with a frown.  
"It could be a genetic mutation... There is also the possibility it escaped from smugglers... But I don´t think that´s the case here. Not this far up in the north. Normally, I´d order someone to examine it. But this time, there´s no one around, and we can´t take it back to the capital either... Most likely, we won´t ever find an answer to that..."

Unsatisfied with their knowledge, the pair had no other chance as to return to the village. Their work had been done. There was no point in wasting more time...

 _`That´s really bugging me. How could such a thing get to this place and survive in an environment, contrary to its needs... Maybe I can delve deeper into this in my personal time...´_

 ** **A laboratory somewhere north of the Capital****

"What an unstilish mistake of mine..."  
Gesturing wildly, a tall man wearing a lab coat stormed through his laboratory. The white streaks among his pitch-black hair made the man look much older than he actually was.

"This shouldn´t have happened..."  
Halting in front of an empty cage with broken locks hanging from the bolts, the man tore his hair out in frustration.  
"This stilish experiment of mine seems to have fled. Now, I won´t even be able to conduct my research..."

Cursing this mess, the man turned around and left the laboratory, not caring about the whereabouts of his experiment in any way. As long as it didn´t terrorize the Empire, there was no reason to fear any consequences at all for his illegal researches...

 ** **Tatsumi´s village****

Their return was welcomed by a festive atmostphere, brimming with joy and relief. Upon seeing them coming back unharmed, everybody knew there was nothing to fear anymore. Whatever had caused all of them to be wary of was gone.

Having fulfilled his duties, Tatsumi was sure the past would come to rest now. His mind became somewhat at ease for the first time since his friends´ death, and he bid farewell to the assembled villagers for now.

He would have loved to stay for a bit longer, but he knew they had to continue their journey to the capital. Therefore, he promised himself to return once he would have the possibility to do so.

"Ready to go?"  
The general had waited silently for her beloved to bid farewell. She had no clue why it was that important to him, but she knew it wouldn´t be wise to interfere.

"Yes," Tatsumi responded as he finally separated from the elder.  
"As long as you can guarantee the safety of the village, you can call Gorgoth here."

"Agreed."  
Pulling the whistle out of her uniform´s pocket, the general didn´t hesitate to call their flying mount.

In response to his master´s call, a loud roar could be heard from high above, making the villagers back away in fright. Slowly, the flapping of wings grew louder as the dragon descended through the clouds towards the earth until he landed right in front of the general, his back turned towards the anxious villagers.

After strapping their luggage to the saddle and mounting Gorgoth, Tatsumi gazed towards the villagers one last time, promising aloud he would return, before the pair leapt into the air, continuing their way towards the capital.

 ** **Western border of the Empire****

The sun stood at the zenith, the temperatures were nearly unbearable for almost any human being. Nonetheless, none of the soldiers complained. They had been given a task by their beloved emperor and they would never disappoint him.

"Colonel Takamori, sir, we´ve just closed the encirclement!"  
Saluting his superior, a young soldier of the Empire reported their newest achievement.

Colonel Saigo Takamori was a grey-haired man of 31 years-old. Being a bit smaller than average in height, he wasn´t really physically imposing, nonetheless, his posture demanded respect from anyone facing him. His muscular body was tanned from lots and lots of hours of training, while his blue eyes exuded the experience of uncountable battles.

Normally, he wasn´t too keen on the pressure and responsibility of his position, but with his sense of duty and loyalty he felt towards his emperor, he just couldn´t bring himself to retire.

"Finally!"  
Hunched over an enlarged map of the entire eastern lands, the colonel didn´t bother to turn around.

The chase for those partisans had been dragging on for weeks. Up until now, they had caused quite a lot of trouble for the Empire, starting commotions all over the eastern parts of the Empire. Most likely they were affiliated with the rebellion...

That was the reason he and his men had been dispatched by Prime Minister Honest on behalf of his majesty Makoto weeks ago. Their mission was simple: find and exterminate any troublemakers in the west. But that´s easier said than done... Given the large area, and the fact he had only 4000 men at hand, it proved to be an extremely difficult task to find them.

Driven by their sense of duty, admirably, not one of his soldiers had faltered. And finally, they had managed to rout them together... Not a single one of those pests would be allowed to escape. Even though he hated to be that gruesome and ruthless, the colonel had his orders.

And there was just no way in hell he would violate them.

"Tell the commanding officers to close in from all sides simultaneously. Don´t let any-one escape. You´re dismissed."

He could hear the messenger run on the dry earth outside his tent, when he finally let out a sigh.  
 _`Finally, this task is over. I can´t wait to return to my beloved Capital.´_

Slowly, the colonel rose and turned around. He grabbed his Teigu in shape of a spear, being well wrapped up in layers of cloth, and went on to supervise the execution of his orders.

 ** **A hidden base somewhere south-east to the Capital****

"Shit! And you´re a hundred percent sure about that, Lubbock?!"  
Leone could barely believe the information they received. Every single one of the assembled members was shaken to the core, icluding the person she had been shouting at just a second ago.

A green-themed, pretty short young man, with matching shoulder-length hair and coat, and clad with blue jeans and a white shirt, serving as Night Raid´s top spy and messenger.

Lubbock. Normally, his attitude was rather easy-going and optimistic, but his expression this time was the complete opposite...

"Affirmative. Confirmed by Najenda herself..." The concerned youngster gravely explained,

"Esdeath and her army have decimated the Northern forces, and made an example of their civilians. The rebellion has lost one of its most powerful allies..."

"We´ve clearly underestimated her..."  
Being the first one to regain his calm, Bulat drew all of the attention at himself.

As a former Imperial Officer, he struck an imposing figure in his mid-twenties. Sheer hard work, an uncountable number of battles and hellish daily training, forged his body into a muscular frame. Being bigger than the average man, Bulat looked even more imposing. As his skin-thight black shirt ahowcased his figure, the `One-Hundred Men Slayer´ moniker fit him just right. Just like Lubbock, though, his usually cheerful behavior was nowhere to be seen.

Looking down at the table, most of his face was darkened by the shadow of his black hair, which he wore in a combed up, heart-shaped there with crossed arms made him look quite frightening.

"We should have expected the worst right from the start, given we´re talking about that demon in human shape..."

"She´s _human_ nonetheless. And once I cut her with Murasame, she´s dead!"

Tightening the grip around the sheath of her Teigu, ` ** _One-Cut Killer: Murasame_** ´, the Vice-Leader of Night Raid spoke aloud, her voice as hard and emotionless as her face.  
Only the red orbs of the teen emanated a single emotion: _hatred_.

Normally, someone wouldn´t believe such a beautiful young girl like Akame to such a dark expression and bitter voice. Her long, smooth black hair, silky skin, petite face and short black dress made her resemble a high-class doll, matching her relatively short height.

However, contrary to her appearance, she once was one of, if not _the_ best assassin working for the Empire. But having recognized its true corruption and evil, she defected into Night Raid months ago. And now she was the rebellion movement´s trump card. Also, given the power of her Teigu, she was the only one with a chance of killing the Empire´s strongest warrior.

"That may be right, but don´t rush things. Right now, we don´t stand a chance against her."  
Even though Lubbock hated to admit it, he knew they were far too weak right now, either individually or as a group. Back in the day, before both of them defected, when he worked as an Imperial Officer under General Najenda´s command, he had once seen the full abilities of the `Ice Queen´. Just thinking about it made him shudder in fear.  
"Per Najenda´s direct orders, we are not to engage her directly for now. We still have to pave the way for the Revolutionary Army by killing as many of those monsters in human shape as possible. Esdeath will be our target, once we got the backup for it."

His suggestion was met with quiet disapproval, though they didn't show an outright rejection to it. They were not an army, but assassins, and they preferred going for their target in the most efficient manner possible. Every single one of them was tremendously skilled, capable of taking dozens, if not hundreds of decorated soldiers alone, but they stood no chance against their most powerful foe right now.

Furthermore, the return of the `Empire´s Strongest´ would definitely complicate things on that end. Since Great-General Budo, the only other living person, being said to be on par with Esdeath´s strength, rarely left the palace, it gave them room to breathe and , with Esdeath to worry about, their situation would most likely change. They had to be even more careful in the future...

 ** **Above the Capital****

With the setting sun illuminating their way back, the two mismatched lovers had reached their destination. From above, the Capital looked even more imposing than looking up from the ground. Tatsumi couldn´t believe the sheer size of the city beneath them; now he had an actual _horizon_ to compare its entire picked his interest the most was the giantic palace, which was getting closer with every flap of Gorgoth´s wings.

"Hold on tight!" Esdeath said without looking back.  
"We´re going to land."

Following this advice, Tatsumi held on tightly to the general´s waist, not wanting to fall off. For him, it also meant feeling up the perfectly toned, yet still femininely soft waist of hers, as well as inhaling the chilly scent from her hair. Slowly, Gorgoth descended, until he landed on a large place right in front of the Imperial palace, right among a group of astounded palace guards. Never before someone had landed on the back of a dragon inside the inner walls of the palace. Normally, that would carry a harsh penalty, perhaps deserving of even an execution on the spot, but given the identity of the person on the dragon´s back, none of the guards dared to make a move. They simply hoped nothing bad would happen to them.

Without so much as even glancing to the guards, the pair dismounted from the dragon, which immediately leapt into the air once they had gotten off of its back.

"You!"  
With authority, Esdeath pointed directly at one of the guards. Instantly, the poor man´s whole body began to shiver.  
"Go and tell the Emperor that General Esdeath has arrived, and is on her way towards the throne room."

Technically, Esdeath lacked the authority to announce herself to the Emperor, even in this indirect manner. The Emperor was supposed to summon her himself, _only_ _then_ she would be allowed to march in. However, clearly, no one had the balls to even _think_ mentioning this to her, much less reprimanding her attitude or pointing out that only the Great General held direct authority over the Imperial Guard. Therefore, the man she pointed to hurriedly turned around and delivered her message.

"What should I do while you´re meeting the Emperor...?" Tatsumi asked, already dreding the answer.

"What a dumb question. You´re obviously coming with me!"

Unable to reply to that, Tatsumi simply started tailing the General, not noticing the glances filled with pity from the remaining guards around them...

 **Explanations:**

- _ **"Gletscherwand" = "Glacier Wall"**_

 _ **\- Colonel Saigo Takamori**_

Age: 31

Height: 1.75m (5ft 9)

\- _**Lubbock**_

Age: teens

Height: 1.65m (5ft 5)

\- _**Bulat**_

Age: mid-twenties

Height: 1.85m (6ft 1)

\- _**Akame**_

Age: teens

Height: 1.64m (5ft 4)

 **That´s it for today. But the next chapter is already in progress. And I try keeping my good resolutions: I wanna write at least 200 words a day xD.**

 **Additionally to the winner of the competition, this Chapter contained my second OC: "Colonel Saigo Takamori" by "crow woyzeck".**

 **As always:  
** **Feel free to ask questions and tell me your opinions. Feel free to review.  
** **Feel free to send in your (OC-)requests.**

 **Until next time,**

 **Marcel M.**


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